


Defenders Without Fear

by Fawnthefox



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Action, Aftermath of Torture, Alive Thatch (One Piece), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blackmail, Child Abuse, Dark, Eventual Fluff, Family Dynamics, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Pre-One Piece Canon, Psychological Torture, Recovery, Rescue, Shirohige Kaizoku-dan | Whitebeard Pirates, Tearjerker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29509152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fawnthefox/pseuds/Fawnthefox
Summary: What if Thatch had found the Yami Yami fruit two years earlier? Instead of being killed by Black Beard, he ends up kidnapped, along with a certain flame user's little brother. Still distrustful of his new crew Ace is reluctant to ask for help. Through his efforts to save Luffy the Whitebeard crew gets a better understanding of who Ace is and what he's willing to do for family.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 55
Collections: Mine favoritter.





	1. 75

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a story I am X-posting from Fanfiction.net. I got a few requests for me to post it here as well. I have hesitated for a while because I didn't want to annoy anyone who now has to shift through this story twice. But I am trying to slowly (very slowly) wrap up my current stories. So I figured now would be a good time to start posting them.

Thatch opened his eyes blearily. All he could see was darkness around him. His entire body felt like a giant bruise. He closed his eyes as he exhaled a throaty breath, content to just lie there forever. As long as it meant that he didn't have to move, he would do it.

Blurry images flashed through his mind.

'A strange island.'

'A missing kitchen knife.'

'Blood.'

'So much blood.'

He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to block out the memories. While most of them were blurry, they definitely were ominous signs! He was in serious trouble this time. What good would remembering do if he was still stuck here, dying in this godforsaken cell?

"Forgive me, Oyaji," he rasped once again before becoming still.

"One, two, three," a cheerful voice above him called before he felt an immense pain on his back.

His eyes flew open as he screamed, the pain far too great for any obscenities. The person above him was talking, trying to tell him something, but his vision and senses were leaving him. He passed out yet again.

How long he stayed asleep was anyone's guess. There were times he rose to the surface of his pain, only to be pulled back under again. During that time, he thought he heard a voice overhead, but it could just be some fever dream. The voice sounded far too pleased to be real unless of course, the person was sent here to torture him. Considering the rough treatment from earlier, it very well might be within possibility.

When he finally was coherent enough to open his eyes, he had the sneaking suspicion a few days had passed.

For the first time, he could take note of his surroundings. He was lying in a cell, constructed of cold grey stone from floor to ceiling. The only light source was from the cell door itself. Light streamed in through the small barred gap near the top of the door. But for the most part, he was surrounded by inky darkness.

He was about to close his eyes and go back to sleep when a chipper voice rang out from across the room.

"You're not dead!"

It was the same voice from before. He looked up in surprise to see a face hovering inches from his. To his vast surprise, it was the face of a kid. An actual kid, as in he looked between his early mid-teens. He had tan skin, black hair and huge dark eyes with a matching grin. He was covered in scrapes and bruises, some of them were sloppily bandaged.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice sounding hoarse even to him.

The teen shrugged, coming to sit by him, the smile never leaving his face.

"I was looking for some food so I went to go hunt for some, but then I got jumped by this huge animal and it started chasing me. So I tried to fight back, but it tried to eat me! Can you believe that?"

Thatch continued to stare at him perplexed. No, he actually couldn't. But that was beside the point. What the heck was the kid talking about?

"So just when I thought it was going to get me, I ran into a tree! It was so surprised that it ran into a different tree." The teen began to laugh as he remembered it. "You should've seen the look on its face."

"Kid? What are you talking about?" Thatch asked, bringing a hand to his aching head.

The teen paused for a moment to give him a blank look. "It's Luffy, not kid."

"Alright…Luffy, how did you get here?" He tried to sit up but instantly regretted it.

For a second he thought Luffy wasn't going to answer, but then he jumped right back into his story.

"So I was going to see if I could eat it, y'know… now that it was all tired from hitting the tree. But it tried to attack me again."

Thatch sighed and closed his eyes. All this chatter was making his head pound. To his surprise, there was a loud and bone-chilling laugh.

He shot up, his injured body protesting as he searched for the source.

There, on the other side of the prison door, stood Teach. His grisly face appearing in the small barred window. His breath caught in his throat as the memories threatened to break through his mental wall.

"I see you met Luffy," the man said a cruel grin on his lips. "Play nice you two. You will be spending a lot of time together."

Thatch shot him a repulsed glare as his arms gave out and he once again flopped to his back.

"Why?" he grit out as his voice threatened to give out. "Why did you betray pops?"

Black Beard let out another strangled laugh in reply. "It's not betrayal if I was never loyal in the first place. I was with you for one reason, and one reason alone. To get power and search for the fruit. Which you so kindly found for me."

"So why kidnap me? Why take the kid?"

The man nodded as if pleased he had asked. "Well, you see, that alone isn't enough. I need recognition and fame. I figured that by kidnapping you, Whitebeard will be drawn to me. When your precious Oyaji comes to save you, I will do away with him and gain his status."

Thatch saw red after the traitor's confession. He would kill this man. Rip him apart.

"YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO BEAT OYAJI!," he screamed with a ferocity that surprised even himself. "He is the strongest man on the seas! He will never lose to scum like you."

"Only time will tell. But I must say, I've always found your unwavering faith in that man sickening." Teach shrugged, not amused by his outburst.

"Not as sickening as your face!" the boy beside Thatch shouted.

The man looked startled at the poor insult. He bared his teeth in disapproval. "I've got to say kid, I'm a little surprised, I honestly thought you would be a little smarter."

"Well, I thought you would be smarter," the kid parroted back, crossing his arms angrily. "And your teeth look like a chessboard."

Who the hell was the kid? He didn't show an ounce of fear, only anger. But his insults left much to be desired. He didn't seem to hate the man with the same ferocity Thatch did either.

"You're nothing like him," Teach told him, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"You're nothing like him!" Luffy said, apparently not done with his barrage of repeated insults.

Teach overlooked his lame comeback and turned to Thatch, "Luffy here will make sure you don't die, so hang tight."

"I'll make sure your face doesn't die…. with my fist!" Luffy screamed as the man walked away, leaving their limited range of sight.

To his vast surprise, Thatch felt laughter bubble up in his chest. The insults were very poor, but the kid's face was so serious. He clutched his aching ribs as he chuckled.

When he calmed down a little, he once again turned to the kid. "So it was you who was treating my wound. Thank you."

The seriousness quickly left his face as Luffy once again sat by Thatch. The dopey grin was back as he hugged his knees to his chest.

"How Old Are You?"

"Fifteen," he said, his eyes wide with confusion.

Thatch nodded. "Don't worry kid. We will get you back to your family, I won't let anything happen to you."

Luffy gave him a weird look but remained silent, something Thatch took as a blessing as he once again let the pain obscure his vision.

* * *

It had started off as a normal day, or at least as normal as things get on the ship. The one difference being Ace's presence. He had stopped his last attack on Oyaji weeks ago. In the absence of daily spars, they had offered him a position as second division commander just a few days earlier. Although the transition of events might seem odd to some, it made perfect sense to the crew. They had seen Ace go from a bloodthirsty monster to the laid-back, friendly young man he really was. Oyaji liked him, a feeling he shared with all the crew. Even while Ace was attacking them, it was clear what kind of man he really was. Loyal to a fault, tough, trustworthy, and someone who never gave up. He was strong in both body and heart, and brave enough to attack Pops without faltering. He was the kind of person who would make a great second division commander, so that's what he became.

Ace was the type of person who drew people towards him. Whether or not he knew it, he made friends easily, and people rooted for him. In the few short months, he had been with them, he had managed to win over nearly the entire crew, Thatch included, without even trying.

But as easily as people trusted him, Thatch had seen a different side. A more fragile and broken side. Ace accepted their trust with open arms and would never do anything to betray it, but at the same time, he was hesitant to extend the same trust to them. That did not stop him from getting into all sorts of trouble with his new-found friends.

And that is exactly how the day started. Ace and Thatch were on deck, fishing around for the latest 'treasure' to put in Marco's bed. Of course, that's not what they found. After a few minutes of fishing around Thatch pulled out a strangely shaped fruit from the sea. After asking Pops it turned out to be a devil fruit. Unfortunately, Teach had heard the entire exchange. He had been standing right there on deck when they discovered it. Thatch had been so preoccupied with the new discovery, he completely missed the evil gleam in the man's eyes.

The rest of the day had passed without incident. The entire crew was amused by what he found, but by nightfall, it was more or less forgotten by everyone but one man.

Thatch was just returning to his room. Most of his brothers and sisters were in bed by now. He had spent the majority of the time in the kitchen preparing for tomorrow's meals. By this point, even the other chefs had left. He had noticed at that point that a kitchen knife was missing. But of course, on a ship like this, it wasn't exactly uncommon, things disappeared all the time. It was likely to reappear the next day in some elaborate prank. So Thatch ignored it.

But when he got to his room, something felt wrong. The door was open ajar, and light shone brightly through the crack. Frowning, he moved to investigate and was startled to find his entire room ransacked. At first, he thought it was just a prank, but his pillow looked like it had been gutted with a knife. Whoever this was, wasn't messing around.

Then he remembered the devil fruit. He had hidden it between two loose floorboards. Not that he didn't trust his siblings, but some of them were greedier than what was healthy for them. What he didn't know at the time that it was Tech who had ransacked his room. The man hadn't left. He was hiding in the closet, waiting for Thatch's return. He had watched him pull up the floorboards and reveal his treasure. From there it was a simple matter of letting the knife do the work. The same knife he had stolen from the kitchen earlier that day.

He had stabbed Thatch in the back, thankfully missing his vital organs but doing enough damage to seriously wound the man. So as he lay bleeding out on the carpet, Teach stole the devil fruit and then stole Thatch. Without anyone on the ship ever waking up.

* * *

Thatch groaned once he regained consciousness, resurfacing from his memories.

"Luffy?"

"Yep?" The boy's face came into view, his ever-present smile as radiant as ever.

"How did he catch you?"

Luffy opened his mouth to launch back into his not so amusing animal tangent when Thatch weakly put up a hand to stop him.

"Skip to the part where you met him," he insisted firmly.

"Well AFTER I missed out on dinner, I was heading home SUUUUPER hungry and I ran into him on the path. He asked me if I was Monkey D. Luffy. When I told him I was, he started attacking me."

Thatch shook his head in pity. "That must have been awful."

Luffy shrugged. "Actually, it was kind of fun, until I lost." He said the last part with a frown like he still couldn't believe it.

"Is that what happened to your face?"

The kid frowned and reached up, feeling the many bandages and scrapes. He shrugged noncommittally. "Some of them…I always look like this."

"You're always covered in bandages?" Thatch asked with disbelief.

He nodded, tugging experimentally on the bandage plastered on the bridge of his nose.

Deciding to burn that bridge when they got there, Thatch continued on. Being the oldest, he felt somewhat responsible for the kid. Even though he seemed less concerned about the situation than Thatch was. Still, it was his duty as a grownup to assure the kid that things would be all right.

"Either way, I'm sure everyone's worried sick about you."

Luffy laughed in earnest. "I doubt anyone's noticed I'm gone yet."

"Don't say that," Thatch scolded. "I know your family's worried about you, just like mine's worried about me."

Luffy looked up at him with interest. "What are they like?"

Thatch thought for a second. "Well, they're really loud, and obnoxious. But I guess I love those idiots."

Luffy laughed at that, and Thatch couldn't help but like the kid. He was one of the happiest teenagers he had ever met. He was completely carefree despite the situation.

A loud bang interrupted the two of them as someone kicked the door. Thatch's head shot up despite his body's protest. Teach himself was unlocking the prison door.

Luffy wasted no time in jumping to his feet. He stood between Thatch and Blackbeard, creating a human barrier. If the man didn't know any better, it almost seemed like Luffy was trying to protect him.

The man's lips curled into a cruel smile. "What? You're going to fight me? After what happened last time?"

"Bring it on!" Luffy yelled as he threw himself at the man. To everyone's astonishment, he managed to get a hit in. His enthusiasm had taken the man by surprise, and in turn, he landed a solid blow to his face. Unfortunately, it was the first and last he would get.

Moving with a remarkable speed, given his rather large frame, Teach grabbed the kid's wrist, throwing him to the floor. Thatch's hoarse screams for him to stop fell on deaf ears as he stomped him into the pavement.

"That won't work!" Luffy told the man as he panted with exertion.

To Thach's horror, Teach smiled, "I know." He pulled a thick pair of handcuffs from his belt and slapped it on the teen's wrists.

He watched as Luffy's face twisted with confusion as he fell limp. Thatch did his best to help, trying to crawl to his new friend, but all it did was agitate his injuries. Ignoring him for now, Blackbeard pulled the free cuff, effectively dragging Luffy along with it across the dirty cell floor. He snapped the second cuff to Luffy's free wrist, forcing his arms over his head as he attached the cuffs to a clasp in the wall.

"Scared now?" he jeered at the teen.

"No," Luffy answered back instantly, and from the look in his eyes, it really was true. He didn't fear this man.

Thatch couldn't help but smile a little at his resolve. But that smile quickly faded as Teach tethered Thatch to the wall with a chain on his ankle, ensuring he didn't go anywhere. Undoubtedly, if Thatch wasn't so injured, he would have received the same rough treatment as Luffy.

"Maybe now you will behave," Blackbeard told them coldly, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Thatch looked at him in disbelief. In all the years he had known this man, he had never thought him capable of this level of cruelty. Sure, the two of them might not have been as close as he was to some of his other siblings, but he still considered this man a friend.

But as it turns out, he hadn't known him at all. No one had. He easily betrayed his crew, his family, and for what? A devil fruit. One that he could've had if he just asked for it. But he didn't, and look at him now, about to go to war with Whitebeard.

He watched, holding his breath as Teach stomped back to Luffy, giving him a long stare.

"Don't, he's just a kid, leave him alone!" he yelled desperately.

Teach glanced over at him before turning back to Luffy. For a second it seemed like he would hit the kid again when instead, his hand shot out, grabbing the straw hat on top of his head.

The effect was immediate. Luffy acted like he had just been shot. His mouth fell open as he gaped before his surprise gave way to pure, unrestrained fury.

"Give that back, you bastard!" he shouted, his face full of rage, catching Thatch off guard.

In all the time Thatch had known Luffy, the boy had yet to get riled up. Despite being imprisoned, Luffy acted like it was a mild inconvenience. Even as he got beat around like a rag doll, he hardly seemed to care. But the second Blackbeard touched his hat, all bets were off.

"Give that back or I'll kill you!" Luffy continued to scream, even after Blackbeard had left, leaving the cell dark.

"Luffy, you need to calm down," Thatch said after a few minutes of desperate screaming.

"GIVE ME MY HAT!" Luffy yelled, ignoring Thatch completely.

Thatch sighed and rested his head back on the cold stone floor. He hoped his family would hurry and come save him already. If not for him, then for this kid who may or may not be going crazy. For whatever reason, it reminded him of Ace.


	2. Chapter 2

The Moby Dick was in an uproar. Thatch was missing. He had been betrayed by his brother. They had all been betrayed by Teach. He had stabbed Thatch and stolen the fruit. It was unknown if Thatch was even still alive or not. Yet they still harbored hope. But after everything was said and done. Each search team coming back with disappointed faces and drooping shoulders the mood began to change. The anger slowly began to fade giving way to heartbreak. It had been nearly a week since Thatch disappeared. The odds of finding Teach were shrinking every day. But there was nothing anyone seemed able to do about it. They had no clues, no leads, no nothing. How would they ever find their lost brother at this rate?

Ace sat by himself on the ship's railing. His knees were hugged loosely to his chest as he stared out at the ocean. To say he felt responsible would be an understatement. He had just been made the second division commander. How had he screwed it up so fast? Teach was in his division, he was his responsibility. Yet he had done nothing to prevent it. Some commander he was.

He hugged his knees tighter. Anybody who knew anything about him could clearly say that Portgas D. Ace loved a challenge. He wasn't one to shy away from anything. That being said he felt lost right now. He wasn't use to failing. His go-get-it attitude coupled with his inability to accept defeat assured his success at most things. Apparently, that wasn't going to be enough anymore. If this wasn't what losing felt like then he really didn't know what was. And now because of his mistakes Thatch was …

"Stop it!" Marco's voice rang out.

Surprised Ace turned around to face the first division commander.

"What?" He asked baffled.

"Stop thinking like that! Of course, it wasn't your fault."

Ace pouted as he turned to face his friend. "How could you possibly know what I was thinking?"

Marco just shrugged as he leaned against the ship's railing. "You're far too predictable my friend. Honestly, nobody blames you. We're all a team. That means that we don't just hand out blame. When we fail we all accept the loss together and work to make it right again. You're no more responsible than the rest of us. Besides, you're still the newest member. If anyone could have realized what he was planning it would have been us."

Ace nodded as he slowly rose to his feet. He wasn't entirely convinced yet but Marco had made some good points. They were a team.

"Come on," Marco said taking his shoulder. "There's something you are going to want to see."

Ace frowned at his serious expression. This couldn't be good. He followed Marco across the deck to the front end of the ship. Most of the crew had gathered there, including Oyaji. They were gathered in a semi-circle of sorts. Marco pushed his way through the crowd Ace following closely.

"What's going on?"

Marco's face was once again tense as he looked over at Ace. He gestured to a small brown package in the middle of the circle. "It's from him." There was no need to clarify who they were talking about.

Ace clenched his fists as he watched Pop carefully pick up the package. What on earth could Teach possibly send them?

He watched, holding his breath as the package was opened. He couldn't remember a time when the ship's atmosphere was as tense as this.

Oyaji grit his teeth as he looked inside. He glanced up at his crew and then back at the package. Confusion blossomed over his face as he withdrew a hauntingly familiar straw hat.

Upon seeing it Ace's eyes widened as his chest constricted painfully. That couldn't be…. But even as his mind desperately pleaded for it not to be true he already knew it was. He would recognize that straw hat anywhere. Did that mean that that creep had his brother? Teach had kidnapped Luffy as well. And this time it WAS his fault. Not all the Marco logic in the world could convince him otherwise. A special type of fear crept into his heart, the likes of which he hadn't felt in years. All logical thought was pushed out and replaced with frantic worry. Luffy was being held by a mad man, a psychopath.

The message was intended for Ace and Ace alone. This left the rest of the crew confused and frustrated.

"Isn't that Red Haired Shank's hat?" Marco questioned? Whatever answer he was about to receive was cut short by a loud thud.

"Ace!"

Marco surged through the crowd to get to his friend. Ace had fallen to his hands and knees and was looking quite sick. He barely responded to Marco's efforts to pull him up.

"What's the matter with him?" Haruta asked in concern.

"M' fine." Ace insisted, his words slurred and distant. With help from Marco, he pushed himself to his feet.

"Are you sure my son?" White Beards voice boomed over the crowd.

Ace nodded as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes never leaving the package.

White Beard nodded satisfied as he turned to address the crew. "I know all of you are worried about Thatch but we can't afford to act rashly. A man's life lies in the balance if we do. For the sake of your brother I need all of you to stay calm and rational."

The crew nodded, their eyes downcast as they agreed. No one was happy about it but pops did have a point. They trusted him to make the right decisions especially when the situation got rough.

"I need all of the commanders to meet me in an hour for a meeting to discuss our next actions. The rest of you get some rest."

Ace was barely listening, his gaze fixed firmly on the deck. He could feel Marco by his side but he refused to look up. The crew moved all around him complying to Oyaji's request.

"Can I see the hat?" Ace asked, his voice sounding hoarse even to his own ears.

If White Beard was surprised he didn't show it. He clapped his huge hands on Ace's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. His free hand handed the hat over to Ace.

"Ace." His calm and commanding voice made Ace look up at him. Meeting his eyes square on. "Is there something wrong?"

Ace clutched the brim of the hat tightly. Wetting his lips before he spoke. "No sir."

White Beard glanced over at Marco who stood beside his friend. Marco's arms were crossed and it was clear as he looked up at pops that he didn't believe him. Still, until Ace was ready to talk there was no use in forcing him.

"Alright, my son. But I want you to know that if there is something on your mind you can always come to us."

Ace just nodded again, "Yes sir." He said in the same toneless voice.

Whitebeard sighed as he leaned back, watching Ace walk away. Whatever was bothering Ace he knew he would eventually work it out.

"Keep an eye on him would you?" He asked Marco. Ace, like all his children, had his utmost trust. But he did fear Ace didn't take the 'don't act rashly' message to heart.

"Already on it," Marco promised him.

* * *

Carefully choosing a hidden corner of the ship Ace sunk down to the ground. His trembling hands still clutched desperately at the hat. He fingered the red ribbon, slipping a finger along the place he knew was a rip. It separated a section of the ribbon from the straw creating a sort of helpful pocket. When they were younger Luffy used to store important things in there.

Sure enough, his trembling fingers hit the folded edge of the paper. A note. He pulled it out and unfolded it, recognizing the messy handwriting at once as Teach's.

Hiya Captain,

Long time no see. You never told me you were a big brother.

Isn't that adorable. I can't tell you how hard it was to track

him down. After all, it's not like you have a lot of family to

spare. So I'm willing to bet you would do a lot to save him

right? Well if that's so then I need you to follow my

instructions very carefully. We don't need to drag the crew

into this do we? After all, this is just between you me and your

brother. A matter of family. As such I want you to meet me in

Sabaody Archipelago in three days' time. I'll keep good care of

him until then.

Love Marshal D. Teach

Ace crumpled the note in his fist. How dare Teach drag Luffy into this? After all, it was between the two of them. Luffy wasn't even a pirate yet, which meant he was still an innocent civilian. After he had been so careful not to let anything slip to the new crew about his brother. It wasn't like he didn't trust them. But at the same time, he could never quite get himself to start talking about his personal life. It felt wrong in some way. Especially when it involved Luffy.

Of course, he had a million stories about his trouble-making little brother that would be perfect to tell during an all-night drinking binge. But that protective instinct he had been developing since he was ten had stopped him. After all for every White Beard member, he knew there were two more he didn't. His worst fear was that Luffy would somehow suffer for his mistakes. Only now it was actually happening. Up until this point, he just thought he was being paranoid. But now he was glad he hadn't shared. Still despite this Black Beard had managed to find Luffy. How he had done it was a mystery to Ace.

Anyway, Teach had been right about one thing. They didn't need to get the crew involved. He had attacked Ace directly by taking Luffy. So Ace was going to go after him himself. This was a matter of family.

* * *

"He's gone!"

Marco nodded looking in concern at his father. "Yea Oyaji! I took my eyes off him for one minute and the next thing I know he just took off."

White Beard nodded thoughtfully, turning away from Marco to look out the window.

"There is something more going on here than we seem to understand."

Marco nodded in agreement. "Why do you think Ace left?"

The enormous man frowned, stroking his chin thoughtfully. 'Why' indeed? Ace was fiercely loyal. What he wasn't was secretive. He was the type of man who brazenly spoke his mind. Vanishing like this without a word was most certainly out of character. It was possible that he should not have given Ace the hat. It didn't mean anything to them, meaning it wasn't meant for them. Ace had been the target all along. Like all of his children, Ace had been saddened by the loss of Thatch. But he hadn't decided to up and leave until he had the hat, which was the single possession, aside from the favored watermelon bag that he had taken with him.

"What would you like to do my son?" He questioned Marco.

"If I may Oyaji, I would like to go after him. Ace is my friend and I am worried he is playing right into Teach's hands."

White Beard nodded turning back to face Marco. "Very well. Bring Ace back to his family where he belongs."

Marco nodded, unable to hide the relieved smile on his face. "Yes sir!"

He bowed curtly to his father turning back to scan the bow of the ship. The sun had yet to set leaving a streak of colors across the ocean in its wake. Still, the horizon was void of any movement except the soft lolling of the ocean. Ace couldn't have gotten far.

Feeling for the phoenix power trapped deep inside him he stepped up onto the ship's railing, precariously balancing there. He felt a familiar warmth spread over his body as he became engulfed in the blue fire. With a final lurch, he fell over the side the air immediately intermixing with his fire. His ungraceful fall quickly turned into a smooth glide as he coasted over the ocean surface, close enough to touch it with a winged arm.

"Hang on Ace, I'm coming."


	3. Chapter 3

"Ace!" Marco yelled landing on the docks with a thud. He earned many looks from the citizens but he ignored them, pushing through the crowd.

He had searched the entire area and this was the nearest island in sight. Ace must have stopped here to restock. At least Marco hoped so, otherwise, the trail would be cold.

This was a relatively small fishing island but it did see its fair share of pirates and sailors. In turn, there was a constant crowd gathered around the fish markets. Picking one hot-headed kid out from the rest was going to prove itself a challenge. Still, he couldn't give up. Ace needed him whether he knew it or not.

"ACCCE!" Marco screamed once again earning him a strange look from the crowd. He certainly wasn't blending in. But then again that was kind of the point. If he lost Ace here he might not find him again until it was too late.

He frowned as he once again took off through the crowd, weaving neatly in and out of the people. But after another hour of searching Marco was starting to give up hope. This place really wasn't that big after all. There was no sign of him here, just fish. lots and lots of fish. He wrinkled his nose as he swore never to look at a fish the same way again.

"Marco?" A surprised voice asked. "What are you doing here?"

Marco's eyes widened as he shot up, nearly crashing into his friend.

"Ace!"

Ace frowned as he shifted his weight awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with Marco's surprise.

"Yea…it's me. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you idiot." Marco chided, too relieved to actually be angry. "Seriously where the hell were you hiding? I looked everywhere."

Still surprised by his magical appearance Ace crossed his arms, slightly defensive. "I fell asleep below the docks."

Marco nodded, that sounded about right. He probably should have checked there as well. He noted his friend's tone. It looked like Ace was less than stoked to see him. Which was a little surprising considering the young man was most likely in over his head here.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Is that it! No thanks for coming Marco, you're the greatest human who ever lived…or something like that." He sighed as he got no response from Ace. Something was seriously wrong with his friend. He was acting really serious. Was this still about Thatch or something else?

"You disappeared idiot. Of course, I went looking for you. We got worried."

Ace's eyes widened in surprise for a second before returning back to the determined cold grey. The very same look he wore when Marco had first met him. It was the look he wore around strangers. Well, that certainly didn't hurt Marco's feelings or anything.

"Well, you found me." Ace said. "And I'm fine I promise." There were a few seconds of awkward silence between the two of them before Ace's gaze softened a bit. "I really am sorry about making you worry."

Marco smiled at the look on his friend's face. He looked like a kicked puppy. That was the kid Marco knew. The very same kid who got uncomfortable when people showed attachment to him. Like he was allergic to people caring about him.

"Ace you are many things but okay is not one of them. Now tell me what's wrong."

Ace sighed as he looked up at the sky, conflict written across his face.

"It's not your problem it's mine. I can handle it myself." He finally said looking Marco square in the eyes. "Thanks and I mean it but please don't worry about me."

Marco watched in silence as Ace hefted his bag over his shoulder, turning to leave. The most surprising part was this was clearly Ace's attempt at caring. He was trying to protect Marco by keeping him out of it. While there was no doubt in his mind that Ace could take care of himself that wasn't the point.

"Like hell," he said grabbing Ace's arm. "We are a team so if you have a problem then we all have a problem."

He quickly let go realizing aggressive may not be the way to go this time. Then again the only way you could get something into that hot head of his was by pounding it in. And if there was one thing Ace needed to understand it was that he wasn't alone in this.

He looked up to meet two very confused grey eyes. They looked almost pained which confused Marco. He didn't think he could have said anything to hurt Ace.

"He has him." Ace whispered shocking Marco out of his thoughts.

"Who? Thatch."

Ace shook his head making Marco's blood turn cold. So this really wasn't about Thatch. There was something even worse going on.

"Luffy." Marco had to strain to hear.

"Luffy?" He repeated unsurely.

Ace nodded clenching his fists, "My little brother."

Well shit, Ace had a brother? He could maybe see an awesome warrior-type older brother but not a younger one. Ace was a big brother? That was pretty ironic considering he was one of the youngest on the ship. When they had first met Ace if you were to tell anyone on the crew Ace had a little brother they would have laughed it off as a bad joke. But now, after all the time they spent together, Marco believed he did have someone he would go to any length to protect. And if Marco had learned one thing on these seas it was the more you cared the more opportunity for heartbreak. Ace must have known this as well, thus why he hadn't so much at hinted at his family.

"Are you sure?" He asked weakly.

Ace mutely handed him a crumpled note. He read it over twice, instantly recognizing the messy handwriting. A sinking feeling of dread pooled in his stomach. Teach was insane. He had kidnapped an innocent kid to get back at another slightly older kid. And for what? Why single out Ace of all people. He was still so new. Sure he was Teach's squad leader but there had to be more right? Popular or not Ace was a new pirate. If Teach had wanted fame he should have gone after an older legend on Whitebeards crew.

Ace had been keeping this a secret? No wonder he was acting strangely. Marco groaned as he handed the note back to Ace. This was SO messed up. And also kind of out of his range of expertise. He had never been in a hostage blackmail situation before… Well, that wasn't true but he had never been on the victim's side before. And honestly, he wasn't enjoying it.

"Alright," he said rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Let's go."

Ace blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I'm going with you."

"No, you're not." Ace insisted firmly. "I already told you that it's my problem, not yours. Besides I don't think Teach wanted me telling you this."

"Screw him," Marco seethed. "He is going to get what's coming to him. That man is certifiably insane. Besides he messed with the Whitebeards, we can't just sit back and twiddle our thumbs while you risk your life. He put his hand comfortingly on the young man's shoulder. "You're not alone in this Ace, I'm here for you whether you want me to be or not. So for the love of God let me help before I punch you."

There was an awkward silence as Ace considered. "You sure about this? We might die."

"Not before taking that stupid prick with us."

Ace smirked at that, for the first time in days. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Although as much as I hate to say it we probably can't do this on our own. I'm going to go with your lead on this one but I think it would really help if you let me call Oyaji. He won't tell anyone else I swear but keeping him in the dark cannot be a plus for us."

Ace nodded biting his lip. He clearly wanted to say something, the nature of which Marco had no idea. But for whatever reason Ace just turned away once more swinging the bag over his shoulder.

* * *

**  
**"Luffy you have to stop." Thatch said as he watched the boy yet again rocket himself at the door unsuccessfully. Luffy ignored him as he flung his body against the wood as hard as he could. He had been at this for days. Whenever anyone untethered him from the wall he went right back to trying to break the door down. Whatever beating Teach gave them paled in comparison to what Luffy was doing to himself. His body was a patchwork of bruises from continuously colliding with the door. Due to the sea stone cuffs on his wrist Thatch highly suspected Luffy had a devil's fruit. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Luffy please." Thatch tried a different tactic. "Talk to me here, what's the matter."

"He took my hat!"

Thatch nodded, he got that part. Hard not to with Luffy screaming it every five minutes. He was beginning to think that this 'quest' for the straw hat was simply a manifestation of Luffy's concealed fears due to their imprisonment. Either that or this kid was crazy. Who fought that hard for such a battered old hat? He could just buy a new one. Surprisingly enough straw hats were not a rarity here. Although there was something hauntingly familiar about that one.

"Would you just shut up already?" Teach demanded as the prison door flew open.

Sure enough, Luffy attacked him with the same ferocity from before. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to land a single hit, especially with his hands being bound like they were. The sea stone made his movements slow and sluggish. It was over before it really began. Teach had Luffy pinned to the floor beneath his hulking feet in a matter of seconds.

"Give it back," Luffy demanded.

"What the hell is so important to you about that damn hat? You should be worrying about yourself instead."

Thatch was just about to yell for him to leave Luffy alone when a glint in Luffy's eyes stopped him in his tracks.

"I don't care what you do to me." Luffy's voice was cold and absolute, it left no room for argument. Thatch had never heard him so serious before. It honestly scared him.

"But if you hurt my hat I will kill you." The look he was giving Teach would have made a lesser man flee in terror. It looked so out of place on someone so happy and carefree.

So maybe there were no manifestations in the form of a metaphorical hat… Luffy was just really attached to that thing. As for the reason why it was anyone's guess.

Teach on the other hand smirked, removing his foot from Luffy so the kid could get up. "You know kid, I might have misjudged you. I thought you were just a stupid idiot. But you might be more like him than I thought." He brought up his hand to silence Luffy from demanded his hat back yet again.

"It's safe," he promised. "I gave it to a friend of yours to watch over."

Luffy blinked, his eyes returning to their usual curious state. "Really?" He questioned, his voice once again reflecting a normal fifteen-year-old instead of that horrifying hollow tone.

Teach nodded causing a wide grin to break out across the boy's face.

"Thank you!"

"Oi!" Thatch cried outraged. What was up with that sudden mood shift? And why the hell was Luffy thanking their captor, the very same man whose life he had threatened just moments ago.

"He's bad remember."

"Oh yea," Luffy said thoughtfully. He turned back to the man anger in his face. "You there! Chess teeth. You get a free pass for today because you kept my hat safe but tomorrow I'm totally going to kick your ass."

"It's Black Beard, you little twerp. How is that hard to remember?"

Luffy just shrugged, uncaring as Blackbeard left, slamming the door angrily behind him. Thatch watched on in amazement. Luffy had managed to annoy him, something Thatch had been trying to do for years.

He turned his head as Luffy once again sunk down beside him. He was completely different from that fearless boy who had just threatened a man's life while pinned under said man and completely at his mercy. He was now back to being the happy-go-lucky kid Thatch had grown used to.

"Kid?"

"Uhmm?"

"Seriously, what the hell is your deal?"

Just when he thought he was beginning to understand Luffy he gets thrown for a loop. One thing was for sure, no one could claim Luffy to be predictable… at all.

Luffy just laughed as he checked Thatch's injuries.

It was clear that was the only answer he was going to get. Thatch leaned back and closed his eyes, the events of today leaving him drained. Sure Luffy was unpredictable and eccentric at the best of times but in their short time together Thatch had grown to depend on him. If there was one thing Thatch hated it was being alone. And no matter how wrong or messed up it was part of him was glad Luffy was here, to fend off the darkness of the prison for Thatch. Of course, the other part of him wanted Luffy to be home with his family right now. But since neither of them got their wish he might as well enjoy the company. His family would come for him. He was sure. And when they did he would personally see to it that Luffy was returned to his.

* * *

"Marco is that you?" Vistas voice came clearly across the Den Den Mushi.

"Yea, it's me." He replied tiredly. "I need to speak to pops right away."

"Is Ace okay! Did you find him? Please tell me he's okay."

Marco sighed not in the mood to deal with this. But he knew his siblings were just worried about their youngest member. He could definitely relate.

"Yea, he's here with me. He's okay for now. Things are going to work out so don't worry."

"What on earth is wrong? Is he in trouble? Does he need our help?"

Marco paused for a second unsure of how to answer the barrage of questions. Yea, he would say Ace was in trouble. But he couldn't tell Vista that without betraying his friend. He had promised Ace to only tell pops. Although slightly unfair, after Teach he could understand where Ace was coming from. He could also sympathize with his reluctance to tell them about his brother before.

When they saved his brother and got this whole mess sorted out maybe Ace would tell the crew a bit more about himself. If nothing else this little venture highlighted just how much Ace trusted and distrusted them at the same time.

"Don't worry Vista, I've got his back on this one. It's all going to work out in the end. Sorry to do this but I really need to talk to pops… kind of life and death here."

He could hear the grumble from the other end as Vista shuffled to comply. He hoped his brother would pass on his words to the rest of the crew.

"Marco?" The comfortingly gruff voice said.

Marco instantly relaxed upon hearing it. Pops would fix things. He knew how to make this right.

"You were right, Teach was after Ace. That's why he sent us the hat. He somehow managed to get a note to Ace in it. He took his little brother and he's using him to blackmail Ace. I think he knows more about Ace than he's letting on."

There were a few minutes of silence as Oyaji processed it. "This is bad." He finally said.

Marco nodded, even though he knew pops couldn't see. He had figured that much on his own. What they needed now was a plan, but how could they plan when they had no clue what was really going on here.

"So what does Teach want Ace to do?"

"Meet him on Sabaody Archipelago in two days… Alone. He made it pretty clear Ace wasn't supposed to involve us." There was a long pause before Marco spoke again. "If I may Pops I think me and Ace should go. I'll keep out of sight and act as his backup. We don't really have many options but to do as they say. They have Thatch and Ace's brother and we have no idea where they could possibly be."

"You think that best?"

"I do sir."

"Well then, you better get going. You have an appointment to keep. Be safe, and report to me if anything happens. We will stay here and continue to track and track them down."

Marco agreed a grimace on his face. This was not going to be pleasant. But he swore to pops and Ace they would find Thatch and Luffy and make Teach pay. No one messed with their family and got away with it.


	4. Chapter 4

Thatch sighed as he pulled himself into a sitting position. His stomach ached menacingly but he ignored it. He met the concerned dark eyes from across the room.

"I'm fine." He promised the teenager, his voice quivering a bit.

"Are you sure?" Luffy asked as he pulled against his restraints. "Because you look like you're going to die."

Thatch's eyes grew wide at that. WHAT! He didn't want to die. Not yet at least. He was too young to die! ...except the more, he thought about it he probably wasn't. But he still didn't want to. If he did his family would be crushed. He would never again annoy his brothers, cook for his family or talk to Oyaji.

"Your bedside manner is terrible."

Luffy just shrugged as he once again began to pull on the cuffs that tethered him to the wall. At one point it looked like he tried to bite the metal, either that or gnaw his hand off.

"You don't know when to give up do you kid?"

The teenager paused temporarily tilted his head to the side. "Give up?"

Thatch nodded, "You know… stop trying. Especially when there's nothing you can do.

He was met with a laugh. "Why would I give up? Then I would be bored."

"So this is making you feel better then?"

Luffy nodded not so much as looking at Thatch as he continued to claw at the cuffs.

"Then have at it." Thatch said as he watched skeptically. As futile as it was he had to admire the kid's spirit. Especially considering they were both screwed. But he had made a promise to return this kid and dying or not he was going to keep that promise.

"Hey, Luffy."

"Yea?"

"Tell me a story would you?"

He watched as two dark brown eyes shifted over towards him. They looked confused. "Will that make you better?"

Thatch shrugged thoughtfully. Probably not, no. But it would help keep his nerves at bay. Plus it might stop Luffy from further mutilating himself.

"Yea, sure." Thatch lied as he rested his back against the cold stone wall.

Luffy's innocent smile brightened at the concept of helping out. He settled back down temporarily seizing his fidgeting. "Alright!" He agreed readily. "I don't know many stories though."

"That's okay, tell me, anything you remember."

Luffy thought for a second creating an odd silence in the room. "My brother did tell me one I remember."

"Oh?" Thatch said surprised the kid had siblings. From his headstrong attitude, he had suspected only child.

"Have you heard about Noland the Liar?"

He shook his head, "Can't say have."

Luffy's smile grew at that. The kind of smile that could light up a room. It certainly didn't belong in a place like this. But either way, it was nice.

So Thatch settled back as the teenager began to tell the story of Noland the Liar. It turns out that Luffy was even worse at storytelling than he was at coming up with insults. He somehow managed to spoil the ending in the first sentence and left out any and all details. Also for whatever reason, he seemed convinced Noland was some form of an aquatic animal when from the context Thatch was sure he was supposed to be a human. Honestly? Why would people understand/ believe/execute a whale? It made no sense.

But he pointedly kept his mouth shut. If Luffy wanted the protagonist to be a fish then it was his call. Who was he to tell the kid that they couldn't survive out of water?

"Are you sure he was executed for eating everyone else's food?" Thatch tried gingerly. "And not for… you know lying about the gold?"

Luffy just shrugged. "Dunno, that's how my brother told it to me."

"You didn't by chance eat his food did you?"

"I did!" Luffy said proudly. "He was so surprised."

Surprised probably wasn't the right word but Thatch decided to let it go.

"So you have a brother? Older I'm guessing."

Luffy nodded a fond yet nostalgic smile on his face.

"What's his name?"

"The one who told me the story?"

Thatch nodded confused by Luffy's apparent need to clarify. Who else would he be talking about after all?

"Sabo!" Luffy said happily.

The man smiled at Luffy's enthusiasm. Even from the short time they spent together, it was apparent that Luffy was a high-energy being. Still, there was a particular spark in his eyes when he talked about his brother. It seemed to calm him down, an impossible feat by any other means. Determined to keep the other occupied he asked what this 'Sabo' was like.

Luffy's face once again lit up at the question. "He is the best!" He answered simply.

"Why?" Thatch probed.

Luffy tilted his head slightly as he thought it over. After a few seconds, he just shrugged, unsure of how to answer. "Because he is."

From his tone, it almost sounded like Luffy was explaining common knowledge to Thatch. As if he was an idiot for not knowing this already. It made Thatch nearly crack up.

"Oh is that so?"

Luffy nodded enthusiastically. This conversation was honestly making Thatch a little homesick.

He was about to ask a follow-up question when thudding footsteps sounded from outside. The two of them fell instantly silent as the door shuttered open. But it wasn't Teach like they had been expecting. Instead, a sickly thin man stood in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked with his usual non-existent tact.

The man's eyes darted over to him before returning to Thatch. He leaned against the door heavily. It looked like he was about to fall over.

"Doc Q," He greeted with a wheeze as he tipped his hat forwards. "I'm a friend of Black Beard."

"That psycho had friends?" Thatch questioned cynically.

The sickly man ignored him as he began to stumble across the jail cell to where Thatch was tied.

"I'm a doctor." He told him swaying drunkenly from side to side. "I'm here to make sure you don't die. You're no good to us dead."

"There's an us now?" He questioned trying to scoot back against the wall. "What exactly are you guys planning?"

The man just shrugged throwing another glance at Luffy. "Don't worry about it." He said too quickly.

"Now hold still so I can fix you."

* * *

"Ace calm down! It's going to be okay."

Marco watched the young man pace with a heavy heart. He understood what he was going through right now. He felt the same way about Thatch. Thinking of his brother hurt and confused in some psychopath's grasp made him want to puke. Undoubtedly Ace was battling with the very same notion.

The two of them were currently in Sabaody Archipelago. The meeting was in a few hours and Ace looked a little worse for wear.

He looked up at Marco quickly before returning to his pacing. "I'm fine." He insisted leaving no room for argument.

Marco frowned but remained silent. It was just like his friend to be stubborn when he really needed help. At the very least that hadn't changed. One thing that was kind of disconcerting was Ace was starting to revert back to how he was before befriending them. It wasn't like he was going to attack pops or anything. It was more the little things. He was starting to close off again. Just when he was beginning to really truly trust the crew this had to happen. The thought hurt Marco more than he cared to admit. He felt newfound hatred flare up at Blackbeard for causing yet another calamity.

The next time Ace passed Marco pulled him down to a sitting position, insisted the continuous pacing was making him nervous.

"Tell me about him."

"What?" Ace asked confusion on his face.

"Tell me about your little brother. What's he like?"

Ace studied his friend hesitantly, unsure whether or not to answer. He looked almost conflicted.

Cursing Blackbeard for the n'teenth time that day Marco made sure to keep his face passive. A secret plea to remind his friend who he could still trust.

Ace sighed tiredly running his hand through his hair.

"He is a mess." Ace admitted finally giving in.

"What?" Marco asked confused. He had been expecting something… more positive.

Ace smiled a bit, the thought clearly cheering him up.

"He is all over the place. He is constantly losing all his stuff, he likes to take on enemies he can't possibly beat, he has no manners whatsoever, he forgets he's cold until he has freaking frostbite, and to top it all off he is always hungry."

Ace finished contently with a lazy smile on his face. At the very least he seemed calmer now. Talking about his brother seemed to do the trick.

Marco smiled slightly, glad to have gotten through to his friend. "Sounds like a handful."

"You don't know the half of it," He said with a small laugh. "I swear that kid is going to be the death of me."

"So do you guys get along?" Marco probed. From the context, it sounded like this Luffy kid drove Ace crazy. But somehow it sounded as if the older teen didn't mind. Still for whatever reason Ace never mentioned his brother.

Ace simply batted his worries away with a laugh. "We still have our fights, just like every other sibling. Especially when we were younger, but not so much anymore I guess. We only ever really get into it when he does something stupid and worries me."

"Sounds rough," Marco said with a knowing smile. He could relate. All his siblings were idiots as well, Thatch included.

"Wouldn't someone realize he was missing by now?"

Ace shook his head, staring out towards the sea. "There's no one to notice but me." He said after a few moments of silence.

"That can't be true," Marco argued, feeling dread creep into his stomach at the thought.

"I'm sure they would notice eventually." Ace corrected himself. "But it would take them a while." Preciouses time they didn't have.

Who knows when Garp's next visit would be? At the rate, he usually popped up it could be anytime in the next two years. Sure Makino might notice as well but once again who knew when she would be able to make it up there. And it wasn't like not being able to find Luffy was cause for alarm. Ace was just about the only one who could predict the sporadic child's movements. Which came in handy when Luffy needed saving. Dadan was honestly the one he had the most hope for. But it would probably take her too long to realize something was actually wrong. Despite the progress they had made with her they did everything in their power not to rely on her. Ace knew the woman did not appreciate or like kids and their very presence already put her out more than she liked. That being said she already proved she would help them out in a pinch.

"So you two are close then?" Marco asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Ace smiled at the question, abandoning the dark thoughts that had started to creep into his mind. "He is the most important person in the world to me."


	5. Chapter 5

"Portgas D. Ace I presume, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Piss off."

"Don't be like that." The man smiled, showing his yellow teeth. "Black Beard couldn't make it today but he sends his love."

"Go to hell," Ace retorted angrily refusing the offered seat across from the man. "Just tell me what you did with my brother?"

"He's fine," He said. "Such a spitfire if I do say so myself. I see where he gets it from."

"Who are you?" Ace demanded trying his best to keep his fire in check.

"Jesus Burgess, Black Beards first mate. How do you do?"

"So what? That crazy psycho is starting his own crew?"

"Started," Burgess corrected. "And we are currently recruiting, you interested?"

"Go to hell," Ace repeated once more. "Just tell me where my brother is and you can get back to recruiting for your little cult."

Burgess sighed as he sunk lower into his seat. "Boss said that if you rejected things would get complicated. Of course, that's exactly what he said you would do. Thinks you're predictable or something. You see we didn't go out of our way to kidnap your brother just to give him back because you asked nicely. One way or another you're going to help us."

Ace frowned crossing his arms. "You're wasting your time with me. I've got nothing to give you."

The man once again grinned, his eyes twinkling cruelly. "That's not true Portgas…or should I say Gol D. Ace."

Ace froze at that, staring at Burgess as if he had suddenly sprouted horns. "What are you talking about?" He finally managed to spit out.

The pirate just laughed at his pitiful attempt, clearly aware he had found Ace's soft spot. "Don't play dumb, we both know very well what I am talking about. Although if it makes you feel better you can keep pretending you're not that man's son."

They stood in silence for a moment as Ace desperately tried to calm his racing heartbeat. His biggest secret, the one that single-handedly assured his destruction rested in the hands of monsters. As did Luffy. One thing was for sure, he was screwed. He pushed those thoughts out of his head. That didn't matter right now, he came here for one reason and one reason only. He would save Luffy even if it were the last thing he did.

"So you know," he finally said. "Why not just go tell the government? I am sure they would be very interested."

Burgess simply shrugged at the suggestion, uninterested. "And let them kill you? How would that help us? Like it or not we have bigger plans for you. And all things considered, it would be in your best interest to listen to us. Wouldn't it be a shame if something were to happen to your little brother? It's my understanding you don't have a lot of family to spare."

How long were they going to keep throwing that back in his face? Generally speaking, when your family dies you don't have a lot leftover. But he was oh so sorry it narrowed down their blackmail choices. Not for the first time, Ace wondered if Luffy would have been better off if they had never met. But perhaps now wasn't the best time to contemplate this. He could worry about it more when Luffy was safe.

"So what, I do your dirty work and in turn, you return my brother? Fine, what do you want?"

"For starters, we want crew members. At the moment it's just three of us and it's getting a little lonely."

"Well, that must be tough." Ace mocked not in the mood for jokes.

"They told me you were a tough kid." Burgess said, "You should have no problem finding the kind of recruits we need."

"Is that all? I get you recruits that's your big request?"

"For now at least, you get our recruits then we will talk again." Until then you better get a move on it, your little friend Thatch is also in our care and from the looks of it he isn't doing so well. It would be a real shame if he died don't you think?"

Ace perked up at this, instantly standing up straighter. "Thatch is still alive? Is he okay, what are you doing to him."

Burgess put up a hand to stop him, "As I said get us some crewmates then we will talk. For now, all I'm going to say is that both of them are still alive."

Relief crashed through Ace like a tidal wave. Thank god Thatch was still alive, at least that was one death he didn't have on his conscience. At least not yet. If there was any physical way for him to save Thatch, he would certainly try. He just hoped the man could hang on a little while longer.

"We want seven new members. They better be strong and none of that conscience crap they need to be tough, rob a prison if you need to. You have two weeks before we meet back here. And you better have all of them or someone is going to die." Burgess rose to leave but Ace called him back.

"What?"

He bit his lip unsure of how to broach the topic. As much as he wanted to let it go he knew he had to ask. If not for himself then for Luffy who cared more about Ace's life than Ace did.

"When this is all said and done are you going to kill me?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it." Ace snapped not willing to play word games with his life.

"Fine," Burgess sighed. "I'm not going to lie it's not looking good for you."

Ace sucked in his breath doing his best to keep his face neutral. This definitely would not be the first time he got a death threat, not by a long shot. But this was the first time someone held so much power over him. Hell, the military presence was strong on this island, all it would take was a few carefully chosen words from Burgess and they would send a buster call for Ace's death. And that was the best-case scenario. At least right now he had a fighting chance. But the way he gathered it the same could not be said about the future. Especially considering they held both Luffy and Thatch's lives in their hands.

He fought through the rising emotions, struggling to keep his voice the same. "What about Luffy and Thatch? Do you plan to kill them too?"

"Whitebeard pirate aside we don't have a reason to kill the brat unless he gives us one. You better pray it stays that way. What I can tell you is if you listen like a good boy your brother's chances will be better."

Ace almost groaned at that. Clearly, this man had not spent enough time with his brother. He was sure Luffy would give them a reason. Hell, he had probably given them some today alone. But at least they needed him alive to control Ace. So for now they couldn't do anything too serious.

Burgess stood up to leave but Ace hardly noticed. He sat there mulling over what he had said. The single thought that kept repeating over and over in his mind was that he didn't want to die, not yet. When he was little he didn't even want his life. It used to be too full of pain and misery for it to be worth it. But somewhere along the way that had changed. He managed to get a family, even someone so useless like him had found some people who loved and supported him no matter what. Of course, Sabo was gone now (it still hurt to think about it)…and thanks to him Luffy was in trouble. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to that kid. It should be a no-brainer, his life for Luffy's. And while he knew he was going to get Luffy back no matter what he just couldn't accept his fate so easily. A small selfish part of his brain kept wishing he could somehow get both, begging him to find another way, a way he didn't have to die. But why should it even matter? He should be happy as long as he saved Luffy right? So why was he suddenly so devastated?

But there was his mother and his brother to think of. If he were to die that would waste her sacrifice and break the promise he had made to Luffy. That was the last thing he wanted.

Sighing he stood up. He couldn't procrastinate any longer on his other fear of Marco overheard or not. On unsteady legs, he walked over to his friend's hiding place. In theory, it was far enough away that nothing could be heard but He learned never to underestimate the firebird's hearing.

He tried his best to change his serious face but quickly gave up. He wasn't really in the mood to smile right now… or ever again.

"How did it go?"

"We have two weeks to find seven crew members."

Marco grimaced but didn't object. "Well, we should be able to manage it."

"Thatch is alive." Ace said watching a huge smile bloom over his friend's face. It certainly made him feel better as well. At least this way Marco would only have to lose one friend, not two. Ae chided himself for thinking that way.

Picking up on his distress Marco's face darkened. "Did he say anything else?"

"Nope!" Ace said innocently, "That was it."

He could tell his friend believed that lie as much as he had believed the first. The only difference was this time Ace wasn't going to tell him, no amount of friendship speeches would change that.

"We should get moving." Ace said swinging his bag over his shoulder. "We have to find this crazy group cult members and we only have two weeks."

Marco said something else but it fell on deaf ears. Ace felt the familiar disconnectedness that accompanied his narcoleptic fits. He always got them when his mind became too full. Usually, it was an annoyance but for the first time in his life, he welcomed it. His problems were finally too big for him to deal with alone.

He was asleep before he even hit the ground.

* * *

"Yea, now we have to help Black Beard gather a crew." Marco sighed leaning against a wall.

Ace had passed out leaving nothing for Marco to do but call pops and update him. To say he was worried about his friend was an understatement. Although the news about Thatch had been just about the best thing he had heard in his life.

"I'm really worried about him Oyaji. I think it's worse than he's telling me. Why won't that stubborn idiot just let me help him?" He kicked the ground in an unusual display of irritation.

"He wouldn't be Ace if he did things the easy way." Whitebeard reminded him patiently. "You have to remember who you're dealing with here. For whatever reason Ace isn't used to relying on others. He tries to do everything himself no matter how bad things get."

"I know," Marco said slowly letting go of his pent-up aggression. "Hopefully he will tell me what's really going on before he dies of stress or something like that."

Whitebeard laughed at that, "You give yourself too little credit. Imagine what would have happened if you hadn't noticed something was wrong with him. He would have to do all of this on his own. We would still have no clue why he left or what was wrong."

That was true at least. It's not like Marco was useless. Right now it looked like his job was finding sketchy crewmates with questionable morals. Lame as it sounded it was all he could do to help Ace at the moment. So he was sure as hell going to do it.

"Well Pops, I guess I have to let you go." They weren't going to find themselves after all.

He just preyed Thatch could hold on a little longer.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you done yet?" Black beard asked as he kicked the teen across the floor. "For heaven's sake you're making this tougher on yourself than you need to."

"SCREW YOU BASTARD!" Luffy screamed as he struggled to sit up. His hands were tied behind his back with sea stone cuffs ensuring and damage he took hurt.

"Are you going to give up yet?"

"NEVER!" Luffy screamed as he threw himself at Blackbeard head-butting his shins viciously. The man howled in pain as he once again kicked the teen across the room.

"If you hurt my brother I will kill you."

His newfound anger honestly surprised Teach as the teen was usually even-tempered and optimistic. Not even the hat incident could compare to his new rage. Teach had let the news slip that they were planning to kill Ace and Luffy exploded. He had expected a reaction, crying, begging whatever but this was a little excessive. And he was only making things harder on himself, not that Teach needed an excuse to beat him up.

He had foolishly thought Luffy could be coerced into being helpful. Alas, he was sadly mistaken. He knew the basics of Ace's life story but it was fuzzy at best. His information was fleeting and scattered which from personal experience was no way to blackmail someone. No, he needed a little more than what he had…more leverage was the word for it. Or at the very least more motivation when he finally took this to the world government. Not only that but he was sure that with a family tree such as this one there were secrets to go around. Some of which Luffy must be privy to. But he was just not cooperating. Blasted kid, reminded him way too much of his older brother. Now if only he could get something to blackmail Luffy with.

"Just tell me what I want to know and I'll ease up."

"Go to HELL!"

Okay, so logic didn't sway the kid. Apparently, neither did pain but that never stopped him before. He brought his foot down hard hearing a satisfying thud. Since the kid was made of rubber normal attacks don't do much to him but Teach easily found a way around this. His new devil fruit saw to that. He could hurt anybody as much as he wanted now regardless of any opposing devil fruits.

Luffy twisted around wrapping his legs around the man's leg in order to viciously bite it, drawing both blood and skin.

Teach cussed in pain as he flung the kid off. "You just don't know when to give up do you?"

"You can't kill Ace!" Luffy said spitting out Teach blood. "He won't let a loser like you beat him."

"We will see about that." He said coyly. "But honestly I'm not expecting much of a fight from him."

Luffy paused for a second staring at the man coldly. "What."

"Well, I have to admit he is pretty strong. So much so that I had my associate offer him a chance to join us. Of course, he predictably declined." He sighed regrettably. "That being said he has one weakness and that's you. As long as I have you he can't oppose me"

Luffy's eyes winded a fraction before narrowing dangerously. "Leave him alone!" His voice was dangerously low.

Teach frowned clicking his tongue at the teenager. "Don't be like that. You two are making this too easy for me. Honestly, I was all worried he wouldn't care I captured you. You know I asked him once if he had any family and he told me no. So I was half expecting you two to hate each other or something like that. Certainty, not this annoyingly sentimental crap."

"You talk too much," Luffy told him rolling over on the floor to look up at the man. "You should learn when to shut up."

"Is that right brat? Well, I'll be doing the teaching from now on." He sent a vicious stream of attacks at the teenager each one harder than the last. Only succeeding to cover his pants and shoes in the kid's blood.

"Ready to talk now?" He asked grinding his head into the floor with his boot.

"You s-hmgs ty'arder."

"What?" He lifted his boot to allow the kid to turn his head to the side spitting out blood as he did.

"I said you should try harder. Is that all you got?"

"What the hell." Teach scratched his head. "Act like a normal kid would you? Cry or something."

"I don't have anything to cry about." Luffy challenged.

"I can give you something." Teach said cracking his knuckles.

* * *

Thatch was not having a good day. For starters, he was pretty sure his wound was infected and it hurt like a bitch. Secondly, he had no idea where Luffy was. Considering they shared a prison cell he did not take this as a good sign. No doubt Black Beard had a hand in this. Still what he could possibly want with the teenager was beyond him. As far as Thatch could see Luffy was just an ordinary teenager. But that was aside the point right now as his worry was growing every minute Luffy didn't come back.

Luffy had been helping treat his injury especially when it started showing signs of infection. However, their combined limited medical knowledge made it difficult. Yet when he woke up this morning there was no sign of the teen. As far as he could tell there was nothing he could do to help his new friend, being that he was still stuck in this cursed cell and all. He had never felt so useless before and honestly he didn't like it.

He had no clue how long he waited in the cold cell before a loud banging distracted him. He scrambled to sit up, wincing when he moved too quickly. He backed against the wall as he heard the jangling keys click into the rusty lock.

"I see you're still alive as well," Blackbeard said unenthusiastically as he swung open the door.

Thatch ignored him and instead focused on the kid he was dragging behind him.

"What did you do to him!" He demanded trying to rise to his feet unsuccessfully.

"It's his own fault," Teach said roughly as he flung the unconscious body down to the floor. "He's stubborn as hell. I guess it runs in the family."

Thatch ignored him in order to crawl to the kid, leaning over him protectively.

"Feel better now that you beat up a teenager." He replied snarkily.

"I would feel better if he wasn't so damn determined." Teach responded angrily slamming the door leaving the two of them alone in the tiny cell.

Thatch frowned and turned back to the kid gingerly wiping blood off his cheek. Was this how they would die? Hurting and cold in this god-forsaken cell. Their families never knowing what happened to them. No! No way. He had made a promise and god damn it, he intended to keep it.

Once again pulling himself to his knees he tore off a section of his shirt soaking it in the dampest parts of their cell. He used it to clean off most of the blood and did all he could for the still bleeding cuts.

"Luffy wake up!" He insisted on shaking the teen's shoulder gently first and then rougher as he began to get worried. The kid just moaned and rolled away, muttering something about five more minutes. He smiled in relief and sat back on his heels. Thank goodness.

"Don't your go dying on me you hear!"

" m'not gonna die" Luffy mumbled barely coherent.

Thatch nodded, satisfied for the moment as he leaned back against the wall. He was a little concerned about how good it felt against his flushed skin. The infection had probably spread, he had a fever.

'Dear family, hurry your asses up.' He thought desperately. They had never let him down before so why would they start now?

"Oi Luffy can you hear me?"

The kid groaned encouragingly.

"My turn. I'll tell you a story about the time I learned not to mess with Izo's hair. So make sure to pay attention okay."

When he was met only with silence he began talking. He wasn't sure if Luffy was listening or not but at the very least it was making him feel better. Filling the cell with happier times.


	7. Chapter 7

" _Ace wake up."_

_Ace moaned as he rolled over yet again. He felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him insistently._

" _Ace wake up!" The voice repeated._

" _What is it, Lu?" He yawned not even bothering to open his eyes. "Can't it wait for the mourning?"_

" _Scoot over,"_

" _Huh?"_

_His eyes shot open as he felt himself being shoved over on the thin mattress. "What are you doing?"_

_Luffy yawned as he settled down beside Ace. "I'm sleeping here." He told him obviously._

" _I see that! What I mean is why?" Never the less Ace scooted over slightly._

" _You were having a bad dream," Luffy told him simply._

" _No, I wasn't!" Ace insisted feeling his cheeks heating up. That sounded weak. "You were having a bad dream!"_

" _Nope!" Luffy told him honestly settling down at his side._

_Ace frowned and looked away. He knew Luffy never had nightmares. Which was ironic considering he had every other problem known to man. Always hungry, abandonment issues, bad form, a weak left hook, tendency to fall off bridges, and always in some form of life-threatening trouble but somehow he never got nightmares. Comforting to know his mind wasn't trying to subtly drive him crazy like Ace's was._

_He also knew he was having a nightmare. He couldn't remember it very well but he knew enough to know it was some pretty dark stuff. Still, he would never admit it._

" _I don't need you to sleep with me." He fumed._

" _Mm-kay," Luffy mumbled already half asleep._

_Ace sighed as he settled back down. Whatever. He knew Luffy wasn't the type to tell anyone…not like he had anyone to tell of course._

_He would like to say this was the first time this had happened but it really wasn't. What he hated to admit even more was that this always helped him sleep soundly. Sure enough, sharing his bed like a five-year-old kept the nightmares away. How pathetic was that?_

_He tried so hard to look tough yet he never actually felt tough. The real surprise was how everyone else fell for it so completely. Apparently, if you beat enough people up they forget that if he were actually strong he wouldn't have started a fight with them in the first place._

_He glanced beside him at his sleeping brother. Luffy wasn't tough, he was a scared crybaby. But at least he wasn't a faker like Ace was. Ace had long since decided he could be tough enough for both of them as long as Luffy remained strong enough for both of them._

" _Thanks," He grumbled. Only after he was sure his brother was asleep_

* * *

"Ace?"

Ace opened his eyes to see Marco standing a few feet away, concern clearly written on his face.

"What happened?" He asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stood up.

"Someone was tired," Marco told him dryly making his cheeks heat up.

"I was thinking about too much stuff," He defended embarrassed. He knew his friend was laughing at him internally.

"Too much indeed," Marco mused. "You fell asleep over a day ago."

"WHAT!" That was a new record. That was more of a shutdown than anything else. He hadn't had an attack that bad since Sabo died. Apparently, things were that bad again. He gritted his teeth as he remembered why. Luffy was gone because of him, Thatch was in the same boat, although this was less his fault. They might kill his little brother, the last of his family and there was not much he could do to stop them. He was going to die regardless. Marco who he had dragged into this might also bite one. That was a hell of a way to pay back the Whitebeards. 'Hey, guys I can't thank you enough for all your friends and help…by the way I got your second in command killed sorry.' But of course, he would already be dead so there would be no apologizing.

"What are you giving me that look for?" Marco frowned.

"Sorry," Ace said as he dusted himself off, forcing his muscles to relax a little bit. He hadn't even realized he was giving his friend the death glare. The situation had him way too tense.

That wasn't even the worst part. There was something Teach didn't know about Luffy. Something that if he found out would guarantee his brother's death. Thankfully enough Luffy didn't know it. He was horrible at keeping secrets which was precisely why Garp decided to instead entrust Ace with this. But Teach had already proved resourceful enough to discover Ace's roots. Who was to say he couldn't do it again for Luffy.

Ace gave a low moan as he ran his fingers through his hair. In his life, he had been in some pretty tight scrapes. There were even times where he was sure it was it for him. But this one was shaping up to be the worst.

"What are you thinking about?" Marco asked after the moments of silence.

Ace frowned as he searched his brain for a safe topic that wouldn't technically be a lie.

"How things used to be simpler when I was younger." He finally decided.

Not like he was ever carefree like most children. Even when he was ten he had to worry about things like where the next meal was coming from, gang wars, if he really should have been born…his dead brother. But he fixed all those problems with punching things. The only real thing he was good at. And when that wasn't enough and the problems plagued his mind he had his little brother who would always find a way to cheer him up.

But since he had become a pirate he found more and more often his problems couldn't always be solved with violence. And there was no Luffy to drag him back from the edge of his mind like before. This particular example was no exception. Right now it looked like he only had one option, to play as that man's errand boy in hopes Luffy and Thatch could make it out of this alive.

"So what's the plan? Where could we go to find strong and greedy people with questionable morals?"

"Probably here," Marco said looking around them. Sure this place looked good on the outside but when you looked closer you could see how cracked its foundation was. Where ever evil like tenryuubito resided lawlessness was bound to follow.

"Well, I guess we can start with the bars?" Ace sighed as he started back towards the shadier parts of town.

Marco caught his elbow awkwardly stopping him mid-step. "Ace…" he began only to be cut off.

"Yea yea, I know." Ace relented. "I'll tell you if something is wrong, we are a team, it's not my fault, we will save Luffy, the general spiel right?" He said forcing a relaxed smile on his face even as he tugged his arm free.

"I was going to say you were going the wrong way."

"Ah," Ace lamented as he set off in the opposite direction.

"Memorizing is not the same as learning," Marco said as he fell into step beside his friend.

"You're saying actions speak louder than words?" Ace guessed.

"I'm saying stop being an idiot." Marco corrected. "It leads to an early grave."

The irony was not lost on him yet he chooses to ignore the advice. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch in a real smile. "That's like ninety percent of my personality. If you take that away you are just left with anger and a cowboy hat."

Marco sighed at his offered advice was ignored. Still, he was glad Ace seemed to be feeling a little bit better. "An angry idiot in a cowboy hat then?"

"It's worked so far." Ace pointed out as he scanned the nearly deserted streets. "Rip Off," He read out loud. Might as well start here.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Thatch asked carefully as he watched Luffy stand up, pouting.

"I'm soooooo bored." The teen complained restlessly.

"I meant your injuries."

Luffy looked down at his bloody and bruised body with a shrug. "It's fine." He insisted.

"You don't look fine," Thatch frowned. He looked like he should be in the hospital. Then again so did Thatch.

He didn't want to admit it out loud but it looked like his stab wound was getting worse. It felt impossibly itchy and it was giving off an alarming amount of heat. Thatch was no doctor but he was sure that wasn't a good sign.

He turned back to Luffy watching the teen run a hand through his messy black hair obviously thinking about his missing hat. He huffed unhappily as he settled beside his friend.

"Luffy you have devil fruit powers right?" Thatch asked after a few seconds of silence.

The teen nodded distractedly. His hands were still tied behind his back with the sea stone cuffs. Being the bastard he was Blackbeard had left them on when he dragged the injured Luffy back to the cell earlier.

Although he hadn't said anything Thatch could tell he was struggling with them being on so long. His breathing had grown increasingly heavy as well as his decreasing energy levels.

"Yep!" Luffy said as he leaned against the wall. "I ate the gum gum fruit!"

Thatch blinked stupidly. "…and what is that!"

"It means I am made out of rubber!"

"Ah…" Thatch finished at a loss for words. "Seriously? Who would want that?"

"I Do!" Luffy said defiantly.

"Right sorry." Thatch shook his head hoping he hadn't offended the kid. "So what kind of stuff can you do?"

"Stretch!"

"…neat," Thatch lied easily. He failed to see how that would come in handy but what did he know. It wasn't like you could pick which power you got.

The two sat in silence for a second until Luffy enthusiastically broke it.

"Hey! You're a pirate right?"

"Yea?" Thatch said a little surprised.

"That's so cool! The boy gushed. "I am going to be a pirate too..."

"Aren't you a little young?"

"When I turn seventeen!"

"That's not much better," Thatch sighed as he realized the boy was now ignoring him in favor of ranting about pirates."

"Look Luffy why don't you wait until your much older… twenty-something at least.

Luffy made a face, "No way! That's way too long." Seeing Thatch's doubt he assured him with a simple, "it will be fine."

"What if you die?"

"It will be fine," Luffy repeated confidently making Thatch worry even more.

Even if Luffy survived the lunatic who had captured him his greatest danger was the idiotic things he was going to do in two years.

"Why do you want to be a pirate so bad?"

"I not just going to be a pirate." Luffy corrected him.

"Oh?"

"I'm going to be Pirate King!"

"No." Thatch moaned slapping a hand over his face.

"What was that?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Nothing," The man promised him not wanting to appear unsupportive.

"You might have to fight the old man for it though."

Luffy tilted his head suddenly interested. "Who?"

"Whitebeard, my captain."

Luffy continued to give him the same blank stare. "Eh?"

"Don't tell me you have never heard of him!"

"He's some old guy then?"

Thatch frowned rubbing his temple. How was this kid going to be a pirate when he didn't even know the most basics of things?"

"Oyaji," He corrected. "Is known as the strongest man in the world. He is currently the closest to becoming Pirate King. He is also my captain."

Whatever reaction he was hoping for he was not disappointed. Luffy shot up at the word strong and was suddenly hanging on Thatches every word.

"Fight?" His grin became impossibly wide. "That sounds fun."

This was not the intended message Thatch was trying to get across. Although there didn't seem to be a possibility of changing the kid's mind. Besides, it's not like Oyaji would hurt him like other pirates would. Maybe just share a little life wisdom.

"Well, then Luffy when you become a famous pirate I guess we will meet on the sea huh?"

"Of course we will." Luffy flashed another one of his brilliant smiles. "We're friends after all."

Not for the first time Thatch had to marvel at Luffy's ability to smile so often and so brightly even when the situation seemed so dark. To talk about the future with such optimistic hope like they weren't trapped in a mad man's prison slowly dying on the cold floor. He would make a good pirate king. Thatch decided. Not as good as Pops of course but Thatch would like to see it happen one day.

"Alright then," He said returning the grin let's do it!"


	8. Chapter 8

"So," Ace said wearily sitting down beside a rough-looking man. "Are you down on your luck and looking for a high-paying job with flexible morals?" The man threw him a look before sliding over to the next seat, only to be ambushed by Marco who wedged himself in the seats between them.

"So is that a yes or a no?" His friend questioned lazily resting his cheek on his hand.

"Leave me alone!" The man said angrily as he slammed his drink on the table and rose. The two watched him angrily storm out of the bar.

"Oops," Ace said sarcastically. Marco sent him an unreadable expression. "Maybe a bit more subtle next time my friend."

Ace smirked as he buried his head in his arms. He definitely did not want to do this. He wanted Blackbeard to fail miserably, he wanted him to taste defeat in every way. The last thing he wanted was to be helping the rat tail bastard. But Luffy and Thatch needed him. So he had to get his act together.

"Alright!" He said sitting up. "The next one will join for sure."

Marco jumped at the sudden mood shift in his friend. "If you say so," He too was having trouble with this. Doing Teach's job for him seemed counterproductive. The two of them were currently in a bar called 'Rip-Off,' which sounded like poor branding to him but then again who was he to judge. They had been at this all mourning with no luck.

"I'm going to go see if we might have better luck across the street," Marco told him rising to his feet. Ace nodded waving halfheartedly as he scanned the nearly empty bar. Probably a good idea. He was just about to get up as well as someone sat down heavily beside him.

"Huh?" Ace lifted his head in surprise to see a tall thin old man with long grey hair. 'This must be the owner,' he thought to himself.

"Sorry sir," Ace said fetching his cowboy hat from the table. He could guess the owner was probably less than thrilled about the shady recruitment Ace was so obviously advertising for.

The man however waved his hand in denial striking up an easy conversation. "Don't leave on my account. I'm just taking a little break from work.

"Ah," Ace said turning away once more to scan the room one last time for any strong-looking criminals.

"Portgas D. Ace right?"

"Huh?" Ace turned around once more to face the man. This just took an interesting turn. Most people who knew his name weren't fans of his. Still, he had never been once to back down from a fight.

"Yep, that's me." He clenched his fist under the table watching for any hostility on the other's part.

"Oh good, I thought it was you." The man nodded appreciatively. "I've been meaning to introduce myself for some time now. "Silvers Rayleigh, It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He held out his hand which Ace reluctantly took.

"Nice to meet you too sir," Ace said with practiced politeness despite the confusion he felt inside.

After a few minutes of silence, he followed it up with a; "Sorry but do I know you?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm a bit of a family friend from long ago."

"The Whitebeards?" Ace guessed now thoroughly confused.

"Nope, although we do go way back as well. I don't know if I would necessarily consider us friends."

"Garp?" Ace guessed halfheartedly.

Now it was Rayleigh's turn to give him a weird look. "Heavens no, although I hear he is a good man."

"I guess?"

"No, I was referring to your father of course."

Ace's mind went blank for a second as he searched his mind for any possibly alternate family affiliations.

He felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he once again tensed. Worse! Much worse than he originally thought.

Rayleigh frowned when he didn't respond for a couple of minutes. "Ace?"

Ace stood stiffly, his hands still clenched into fists but they remained at his side. He didn't want to talk about this, not here not or ever for that matter. Still, this was sort of a big deal, the thought of yet another stranger knowing his secret was not comforting.

"Family friend?" He asked softly.

Rayleigh nodded watching him thoughtfully. "I was your old man's right-hand man back in the day." A fond smile flitted across his face.

Ace sunk back down into his seat wearily. "Are you going to tell anybody?"

To his surprise, Rayleigh let out a quiet laugh. "Who would I tell? Besides I'm sure I would be in just as much trouble as you, probably more so."

He nodded, that made sense to him. One less thing he had to worry about in this already chaotic day. Still the thought of someone knowing made his skin crawl.

"I've always wanted to meet you! I was getting worried that I would never have the chance."

"How did you know it was me?" There was a reason why he changed his last name after all.

"I knew your mother, of course, a bit of a spitfire." He glanced at Ace curiously. "You would have liked her. You look just like her actually."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief. He had seen a picture once and he had to disagree.

"No, not quite. You look much more like Rodger when he was younger but you have her freckles."

"Ah," Ace finished lamely. He had no idea how to respond. This whole situation made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Now I've got a question for you." He continued when Ace didn't respond. "Why are Whitebeards top commanders doing Teach's dirty work?"

Ace looked up at him in surprise. He was more observant than he gave him credit for. "We, um, you know how it goes…pirates, betrayal, alliances." He swallowed thickly thinking how betrayal had suddenly taken on a new meaning to him.

Rayleigh nodded with a concerning amount of comprehension in his old eyes. "You know," he began thoughtfully. "This is only the second time I've seen that hat, not on someone's head."

Ace blinked in confusion for a second before his gaze fell to the floor. His watermelon bag lay at his feet, the drawstrings had come untied showing just a patch of a worn-out straw. Feeling protective of the tattered old thing he picked up his bag redoing the drawstrings before slinging it over his shoulder.

The old man watched with his ever-constant veiled smile.

Ace opened his mouth to say something but before he could get a word out he was interrupted.

"Hey Ace, any luck?" Ace jumped as his friend thumped his back.

"I found a guy who might be interested if you want to come meet him."

Ace glanced up at Marco in surprise. He was acting casual but his usually calm demeanor had broken. He could sense a slight edge of apprehension. Apparently, the two of them had already met.

"At least that's one down," Ace said standing up glad to be leaving. "It was nice to meet you, sir."

Rayleigh just waved at the two of them as they left. "Come back for a visit any time boys."

Ace decided he liked that man, even if he was a friend of his father.

* * *

Blackbeard sighed as he looked down at the messy table. Nothing… all the hours of research just to come up empty, what a waste of time. Scandals, deceit, blackmail, this was his sport and the ball was in his court. So why couldn't he seem to put the pieces together? He knew he was missing something, the final piece of the puzzle. He was so close he could feel. He closed the book with a slam casting an annoyed glance to the corner of the room. This would be so much easier if a certain someone would just chip in. If there was one thing Teach hated it was hard work. With another loud sigh, he walked across the room to where the kid's body lay, still and unmoving. He kicked him over with the toe of his boot looking for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. It would be no good if he died now, then what would he use to blackmail Ace with? He doubted the young man had many more exploitable relationships… Speaking of which the elder prisoner had caught himself a fever. He hadn't so much as stirred when they dragged the noisy kid from their cell this morning. He had been meaning to ask the doc to take another look at him but it had slipped his mind. He preferred the pirate alive, at least for now. All he needed now was for the two of them to just stop dying for like five minutes and obey him but apparently, that was asking too much. Especially from Luffy. He rubbed his chin bitterly giving the unconscious teen a vicious kick to the ribs in return for the head-butt this morning.

He never considered himself a particularly vicious man. Unpathetic maybe but not downright evil. But unlike some of his acquaintances, he didn't necessarily find joy in other's pain. It wasn't uninteresting but it failed to light a spark in his eyes. But then again Blackbeard did get bored sometimes. He leaned down to grab the kid's bruised ankle tugging it upwards.

"Oi, get up!"

When he didn't so much as stir Teach narrowed his eyes. Apparently, he had to do everything around here. Dragging Luffy by the ankle he made his way out of the stuffy blood-stained room and down the long corridor.

For the last few weeks, they had been using an abandoned military fortress as a hideout but now it was time to move on. He made a mental note to grab Thatch right after this, he would have Doc take a look at him and Luffy too while he was at it. It would appear that he had seriously messed him up this time. But he was still breathing so that was something.

"Seriously kid," he sighed aggravated. The problem was he was too much like his brother. The more time he spent with the teen the clearer the similarities were. It was in the way they both smiled, denied help when they were hurting and it was in those blood-curling glares when they got angry. Idiots like this, the self-sacrificing good Samaritan type, were no surprise to Teach. He had seen their kind before. They lived brightly and burned out fast. No doubt this was where Luffy was headed. He had expected more from Ace but the way things were going that may have been misguided trust. From time to time he would see a familiar shadow behind his grey eyes. The eyes of a killer so angry and mistreated by the world. But that rare glimmer would quickly be swallowed up by mirth and cheer.

His eyes lazily scanned the grey horizon. The sun would be rising in a few hours. They would be long gone by then. He wasn't exactly thrilled about their ship as it was too small and battered in his opinion. Nothing like the ship that the future pirate king would sail on should look like but for now, he would make due. He could always get Ace to get him a better one later. He smiled at the thought as he continued to drag the teen across the crumbling courtyard.

He dropped Luffy's leg when he felt the slight stir of tired muscles. He once again tried to wake him with a non-too gentle nudge to the ribs. Luffy moaned lightly in response.

"You alive?"

His already spent temper sparked when Luffy didn't respond.

"You're an idiot you know that right?" He couldn't wait to get a crew so he wouldn't have to do grunt work like this himself. Soon, he reassured himself, he would be able to order people to deal with the kid and all his idiotic idealisms. At the very least it would save him a headache and sore knuckles.

He glanced down at the teen, surprised that he had remained silent for so long. To his surprise, Luffy wasn't even looking at him. Instead, his head was turned to the side, his gaze transfixed at the docks a little ways from their make-shift fortress. Or more specifically the ocean beyond that.

"Listen to me brat! I'm giving you some advice here! Smarten up a little would you? Maybe if you were a little more helpful we wouldn't have to rough you up so much."

Luffy turned away from the ocean for a moment to give the man a thoughtful look, rarely seen on his face.

"Shhh,"

"Huh?" Teach sent him a confused look. "What is it?"

"I don't like the sound of your voice," Luffy told him with his usually subtly and tact.

"Always the hard way with you huh?" Teach considered for a moment. He didn't seem to be responding to violence and pain, maybe it was time to try something else. He squatted down closer to Luffy's level, balancing his enormous weight on the balls of his feet.

"You know what kid?"

Luffy didn't respond, his attention was already back on the ocean. He seemed too tired even for his usual lame comebacks.

"Your brother is really worried about you."

Luffy's gaze flickered over to him. "Thatch as well," Teach continued.

"They're actually coming to get you," He turned away in hope Luffy didn't see the wide grin on his face. He could tell he had the teen's full attention now. "I can't comprehend how but they found out about our base…we were thinking about giving you back. I mean after we got some compensation of course. But you know I got to thinking. You really are the worst kind of a brat and I would hate to see you get away so easily, especially without learning your lesson first." He turned back to Luffy a huge smile plastered on his face.

"So I think we are going to keep you instead." His grin grew wider when he saw the teen's eyes grow wide. He once again grabbed his ankle dragging him along roughly towards the dock. Luffy yelled in response trying weakly to kick Teach with his free foot while his bound arms scrambled in the dirt desperate for some kind of handhold.

Teach smiled to himself. He didn't know if Luffy completely believed him or not but the reaction was nice. Why hadn't he tried this sooner?

When they reached the docks he once again dropped his bruised leg in order to roughly lift him up by his shoulders. "We have a long trip and we don't need a brat like you running his mouth so shut up and for once in your life behave."

When Luffy tried to unsuccessfully bite him he dropped him in a wooden cargo crate, thoroughly unimpressed.

"Stay," he ordered, much like one orders a dog around.

Whatever Luffy's response was it was muffled as he slammed the lid shut once more, fastening it in place with a few dozen nails for good measure. He could hear the teenager continuing to shout and kick the sides frantically with his feet. Teach kicked the box over watching in satisfaction as it tumbled a few times. He turned away content, feeling like he had won that exchange. They wouldn't be leaving for a couple of hours, plenty of time for him to get some much-deserved rest. He frowned as he remembered Thatch but quickly brushed the thought aside. He would be fine for tonight…probably.

Content things were going according to plan he headed off. Leaving one of his underlings to deal with the rowdy cargo box. Somewhere at the bottom of the ship would do, where the air was stale and the floor was already flooded. He was curious to see how well Luffy would hold up with no food or water in a very special kind of solitary.

"Stupid brat," he muttered pushing the annoying kid out of his mind. Time to go mess with the older one as well.


	9. Chapter 9

Luffy groaned in frustration as he slumped to the bottom of the crate. He was soaked to the core with seawater and it felt like he couldn't breathe. He could hear the ocean outside knocking against the sides of the boat. A particularly harsh one sent him crashing into the side of the box. They hadn't taken the sea stone cuffs off although it hardly made a difference considering he was practically drowning as it was. He brought his knees to his chest resting his chin on the soaked fabric of his denim jeans. The crate was pitch black except for a few small holes where air and light could stream through. However, he realized with mild panic that the water level had risen to the point that they were now just filtering seawater into the box.

Luffy wanted out of the box, he wanted fresh air and to be dry and warm instead of soaked and freezing. He also wanted to punch Blackbeard in his stupid face and take boshi back. But as hard as he tried he couldn't seem to do it on his own. What he really wanted was for Ace to come save him, make everything okay like he always did whenever Luffy got into trouble. He shook his head. He wasn't a little kid, he couldn't wait for Ace to come save him. Ace probably had his own friends, his own adventure, and his own stuff to do. No! Luffy would get himself out of this one, Thatch too. No matter how miserable things were he learned long ago that the sadness never stayed forever.

He had no clue how long he had been in the box, it felt like a long time though. Judging by how hungry he was it was quite a few days. He couldn't help but wonder if they had forgotten about him. At the very least it meant they weren't picking on him anymore. Contrary to popular belief Luffy did not enjoy pain. Pain hurt him just like anyone else. The rubber skin helped to dull it but he still felt it every time. Now more than ever considering the sea stone cuffs and numerous injuries already cluttering his skin. But he recognized it as a necessary evil. It didn't hurt nearly as much as being alone did. If he was getting a beating then it usually meant someone he cared about wasn't which was reason enough for him. Now wasn't any different. At least when they hurt him it meant they weren't kicking Thatch around like they would when they got bored. Speaking of the man where was he? Luffy hadn't heard anything about him since he was put in this infernal box. In fact, he hadn't heard anything at all since being put in the box. But it was ok, he reminded himself quickly. Although he was alone right now it wasn't like before. He wasn't alone, just lonely…and wet. He would get out somehow. Then maybe he would get to meet Thatches' family as the man promised. According to Thatch, he had many many brothers and sisters. Luffy thought that sounded like a lot of fun, like a hundred Ace's and Sabo's running around. He smiled at the thought as he rested his back against the wooden wall of the crate. He passed most of his ample free time by imagining everything he was going to do when he got out. The first of which, after reclaiming Boshi and beating chess teeth silly, was eat as much food as his stomach would take. Or scratch that he felt like he should probably take Thatch to a hospital first as the man was not doing so hot. Luffy felt worry curl unpleasantly in his stomach as he thought of the older man. His condition started to worsen a few days before they departed the abandoned island. Thatch had begun to share some very personal stuff with Luffy for no apparent reason. Luffy had ignored this at the beginning, brushing it off as part of the man's sentimental personality. However soon the words turned from strange to nonsensical and Luffy realized something was seriously wrong with the man. It was later that Thatch stopped talking altogether and retreated into himself. Luffy tried to get someone's attention so they could send the Doc but Tech couldn't be bothered. The only time they had been paid any attention was when Blackbeard came to collect Luffy for one of his little 'learning experiences'. Teach had then proceeded to ask Luffy about secret family stuff? Whatever that meant. He doubted even Teach knew what he wanted Luffy to tell him. Further blackmail material as he called it. Luffy stubbornly refused to tell him anything, not that he knew anything, to begin with. Apparently, it was his family's policy to leave him out of that kind of secrets. Either way, it had almost been worth it just seeing how worked up Teach got over Luffy's continued refusal to divulged information, or even ask for mercy. Luffy's dislike of the man had grown considerably during his imprisonment. What had started off as a strong mutual dislike soon turned to rage as boshi was taken and Thatch was mistreated. The rage however developed into something much deeper when Teach told him how he was planning to use Luffy to kill his brother. Few things pissed Luffy off as much as being used for someone else's benefit did. But what was he to do about it? Loud voices pulled Luffy from his thoughts.

"Well, how do you expect to pay for supplies when you spent all of our money on sake?" A shaky voice rasped.

Luffy stiffened at the sound. It was the closest he had come to human contact in days.

"Just trade in some of the useless crates." A deep voice bellowed back. Luffy gritted his teeth, it was Teach. Luffy had to cover his mouth to keep from grunting as a foot roughly kicked his container knocking him into the water.

"The flooding is so bad in here the stuff is probably wrecked anyways."

Luffy frowned, what were they talking about? Did they really not remember he was down here? They were probably pretty drunk he reasoned. Considering that's how they spent the majority of their days it wasn't a huge stretch. That would also explain the slurred speech. He heard the Doc mutter a grunted okay as he began sloshing through the water pulling ruined crates of waterlogged food back up the ship's stairs. Luffy bit his tongue as he felt his box being lifted. He heard their heavy boots creak the stairs as they carried him above deck and once more into the sunlight. He hadn't realized how much he had missed fresh air until now. He filled his lungs greedily with a huge smile on his face, the first one in many days. He could hear the busy bustle of port and the chirping of the seagulls overhead. However, he didn't have very long to be happy about it before the crate was literally thrown overboard. Luffy yelped in surprise as the wooden box collided with the weathered wood of the dock. Thankfully his yell was masked by the smashing of wood against wood as both the dock and the box splintered.

He shook his pounding head trying to clear it as he pushed his feet against the cracked side of the shipping crate. He could hear the wood moan and splinter under the pressure as the side began to cave.

"Say, boss?" The Doc questioned lazily.

'just a little more!' Luffy thought, his face red with effort.

"Wasn't the kid in one of those crates?"

Luffy yelled triumphantly as the broken side finally caved under the weight, separating from the rest of the box with a reluctant crack. This did not fail to catch the attention of the two kidnapping pirates who turned their hawk-like attention to him dumbfounded.

Luffy however was unaware of this as he was immediately blinded by the immense sunlight pouring into what used to be pitch black. Knowing he didn't have time to linger with the pain he scrambled to his hands and knees crawling out of the box, tear streaming from his light-sensitive eyes making it hard to see anything besides blurry shapes. Still, he forced his aching body to get up and make a break for it. He could hear the furious yelling behind him as they gave chase.

"You imbecile! How could you forget which box I put him in! After him."

Luffy could hear the Doc and Teach lumbering after him. He was definitely faster than them but his muscles were crying out from misuse. He ducked around the corner only for him to crash into someone. He swallowed a groan as the impact sent him sprawling to the ground with an oddly rattling thud. Although he wouldn't admit it the rough treatment of the last few weeks was taking a toll on him, a tiny spill like that would usually be nothing but now he found himself struggling to rise again. His body was shaking so hard he was having trouble sitting up.

He vaguely heard the man offer him an apology which he ignored.

Instead, he sat up scanning behind him for his captors. Not that it did much good, his still blurry vision could only make out dull shapes.

Suddenly the man was right beside him, loudly trying to get through to him. Luffy looked up at him startled. Not that it mattered, he was just a dark blob, although he did sound concerned. The blob said something else, asking if he needed a doctor to which Luffy opened his mouth to decline when a loud shout cut him off.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE."

'Oh right, them." Luffy thought as he pushed himself to his feet, forcing his trembling leg to carry him away from his captors. He tore his way through the harbor trying to avoid further collisions. He heard a crash behind him but he refused to look back. This was his chance! He had a shot to help Thatch and his brother but he didn't stand a chance without food…not to mention the sea stone cuffs. 'Don't worry Thatch! I'm coming.' Just after a snack and when he felt a little less lightheaded.

Luffy refused to stop running even after he meandered his way out of the crowded area and worked his way to the deserted outskirts of town. The angry cries of Teach and Doc Q had faded out long ago but he knew they would continue to search the town for him.

He frowned at the thought as he came to a reluctant stop, his legs shaking so badly they threatened to cave under him. Apparently, if you spend a few days in freezing water without food in a tiny cargo box your legs don't work so well afterward. You really do learn new things every day.

He scanned the area thinking with a heavy heart that there was no sign of food. He may have run too far. His stomach growled loudly in protest. He would have to risk going back if he wanted to eat. He turned back down the alleyway only to trip on his own fatigue. He fell ungracefully onto his stomach feeling very sleepy. Apparently, food could wait until after a nap. The last thing he registered was the rumbling of thunder far in the distance.

He didn't even notice as it began to rain, slowly at first and then intensely as he was once again soaked to the bone. Lighting crackled overhead but he managed to sleep through it, still as the dead. He didn't wake up even at the rousing of the concerned bystander who was growing quite worried.

* * *

It was well into the evening when Luffy finally awoke. He dimly realized that he was finally out of the cold, in an abandoned warehouse by the looks of it. But at least he was no longer shivering. He sat up curiously and looked down at his chest. His shirt had been removed and all his wounds tightly bandaged. His shorts were still wet but they too were slowly drying. Someone had put their coat around him, it was a little big but it was keeping him warm. Unfortunately, his hands were still tied together with the cuffs. He felt the pockets weighed down by something and reached in, surprised to find an array of items. The first was a note hastily scrawled in fancy handwriting.

' _Don't go anywhere that man is still after you. I have to go do something real quick but stay here and I will be back to help you.'_

_-S_

Luffy frowned as he put the note down and fished around more in the pockets. He also found some food, which he quickly polished off, and some pain pills which he ignored. He shrugged off the coat and located his still-damp shirt, which by this point was so damaged it was barely a shirt anymore as whoever helped him had cut it off to get to his injuries so he decided not to bother with it. He wanted to go back to sleep, just for a little bit as his head was pounding so much he couldn't think straight. But he didn't have time to be sleeping, not when Thatch needed him. If he was going to do this he needed to be smart about it. He couldn't do this his way. Even at his best, he couldn't take these guys down. He had already repeatedly tried and failed. Despite the fact he was itching for a rematch he couldn't do that to Thatch. So he would have to think like someone else.

Luffy slipped out of the abandoned building and back onto the street. The sun had set a while ago creating an optimal sneaking around atmosphere. Luffy glanced both ways confused where he had ended up, was the port that way or back up the road? Was he even in the same town?

What would Ace do? Ace wouldn't have gotten caught in the first place. Luffy thought annoyed. But he would go right back and save Thatch, letting him escape while he battled Teach. Right! Luffy started down the road, hopefully towards the ocean. But wait? He wasn't strong like Ace yet, if he tried that he would probably lose again. He pouted as he came to a stop. Ace didn't believe in running away, he thought it was a sign of weakness but it seemed like Luffy's best bet so maybe he should think of something else. What would Sabo do? He was always the smartest. He did run away sometimes but only when it was smarter to do so than to stay and fight. But Luffy couldn't run away, not when those bastards had Thatch. So he had to think like Sabo. What he needed was help. Except experience had taught him that there were few people in the world who would help him and he had no clue where any of them were. So it looked like he was on his own. Sabo would probably do something like wait for them to fall asleep and break Thatch out. Luffy thought for a moment. Yea… that would do it.

He started running back down the open road hopefully heading straight for the sea, ready to go rescue Thatch. Completely oblivious to the added weight to his forehead.

* * *

Sabo frowned as he read over the mission instructions. Honestly, he couldn't read Hack's handwriting. Did this say save the duke or slay the duke? Who was the idiot that put him in charge of writing the assignment dossier? Considering the chief of staff was responsible for doling out jobs then he was that idiot. But then again Koala didn't immediately correct him and redo it herself so he figured this was partially her fault. He ought to save the duke just in case, that way he could slay him later.

He was so intent in deciphering Hack's handwriting he didn't look where he was going, not until he ran smack into someone. He yelped in surprise as the impact sent him sprawling to the ground. Rubbing his back in annoyance he dusted himself off offering a polite apology. To his surprise, the person he had bumped into hardly seemed to register him. He was just a kid. A kid who was having a rougher day than Sabo by the looks of it. For starters, he was very thin and he was soaking wet and shaking like a leaf.

"Hey, kid are you okay."

The teen looked up at him, startled. His face, like the rest of him, was bruised and bloody. His lip was split and bleeding sluggishly as well as a huge gash above his eye. Not to mention the handcuffs around his wrists.

In an instant, Sabo felt flooded by an inordinate amount of rage. The likes of which he couldn't remember feeling before. But just as quickly as it came it was gone.

"Do you need a doctor?"

The teen opened his mouth to respond but before he could there was an angry yell behind him.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"

Sabo looked back surprised to see a burly man racing full speed down the street towards them. Startled the teenager tried to pull himself to his feet only for his wobbly arms to collapse under him. Sabo grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet, standing in front of the kid and the approaching man. A gesture the teenager apparently did not recognize as protective as he took off down the crowded street. Sabo watched him go startled.

"Don't just stand there!" The man cried angrily as he lumbered by them, grab him."

None of the passersby paid any attention to the request. In fact, they went out of their way to purposely ignore the suffering boy and his attacker. 'You can always count on civilians to do the right thing,' Sabo thought sarcastically as he crossed his arms, purposely stepping in front of the burly man blocking his path.

"You have a problem punk?"

"No," Sabo admitted honestly, stalling as he shifted his weight.

"Then get out of my way!" The man moved to step around Sabo only to be once again blocked.

"Last warning before things get ugly." He said pulling his pistol out from his belt.

"Fine," Sabo said stepping aside. He didn't want to draw any attention to himself by starting a street brawl right before a covert mission. He was a professional after all. The kid was out of sight, which should have been enough of a head start for him to get away. Still, as the man brushed passed Sabo couldn't help but trip him. He watched as the man adamantly cussed him out, promising a slow death should they meet later. He watched him disappear down the street after the kid before slowly collecting his scattered possessions and walking back down the street. He did all he could it was time to get back to the mission. 'The kid would be fine,' he told himself once again before stowing the map back in his pocket.

"Screw it!" He cried in annoyance as he took out his pipe once again changing directions and began running after the two of them. 'screw it screw it SCREW IT!"

He had to give it to the kid, he sure could run. It took Sabo longer than he anticipated to finally catch up. The teenager was more hurt than Sabo realized. He had managed to allude the big scary man but for how long was anyone's guess. He had found him passed out in an alleyway. By this time the rain had picked up a lot completely soaking Sabo as well as the kid. Although there was an impressive lightning show overhead.

"Come on kid," Sabo said as he knelt down trying to wake him up. "That man can find you out here."

His only response was a groan of annoyance as Sabo once again tried to wake him.

"Well, I'm not just leaving you here. Come on let's try to find someplace safer, then you can sleep." The teen didn't respond so Sabo pulled off his coat pulling it around the shivering boy as he grabbed his arm pulling it around his shoulder.

* * *

"Ta-daah!" Marco said unenthusiastically showing Ace their two new recruits, a fat man with an equally fat nose named Vasco Shot and a horsed-faced sharpshooter who went by Van Augur. The two of them looked Ace up and down seemingly unimpressed.

"Is this that Teach guy? He doesn't look so scary to me."

Ace ignore them In order to address Marco, "them plus that wolf giant you found last week makes three then?"

Marco nodded as the two of them internally groaned. Their two weeks were more the half gone and they still needed more than four people. Plus even if they found seven people they were no closer to saving Luffy and Thatch.

"Ace, I know you don't want the others to get involved but we need help. We might need to ask Oyaji."

"If he finds out I had help…" Ace trialed off not needed to say the implied threat.

"But if we fail to find four more people he will definitely take it out on them." Marco reminded him.

Ace nodded running his hand through his hair stressed. This was not his idea of a fun time. Not to mention everything he did led him closer to his inevitable death and possibly Luffy's as well if Teach found out his final secret. Which would mean breaking both his promises to his brothers and being a total failure in both life and death all the while simultaneously hurting the Whitebeard pirates and failing to save Thatch. Best big brother ever!

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, hopefully, Pops will have some better contacts. Don't worry."

Ace threw his friend as big of a smile as he could manage, which was weaker than his typical trademark grin. Still, he couldn't help but feel a warm surge of gratitude towards his friends. 'Wish you could see this Lu,' he thought with a smirk. He had a feeling his brother would fit in rather well with his friends.


	10. Chapter 10

"Find that damn kid or you will regret it."

Teach's voice seemed to carry across the ship and permeate into every crevice. Which made Luffy both angry and a little worried at the same time. He couldn't be found out so soon. Not until he found Thatch. By some miracle, he had found the ship once more and boarded while everyone was out searching the streets for him. Apparently, they did not expect him to come back here, who was the dumb one now? Unfortunately, while he was partway through searching below deck they had returned, angry, disgruntled, and ready to start a fight. Luffy had no choice but to duck into the nearest room. Which was Teach's office. Luckily enough that was where the prison keys were kept. Unfortunately, the sea stone keys weren't with them.

As footsteps approached Luffy crouched down near the desk, resting his chin on his knees as he watched the shadows move under the closed door. Furious voices drifted through thin wood to reach his ears.

"He mustn't get far! We can't let him get away."

To his vast relief, the footsteps didn't stop and instead continued past the door and down the hallway.

Luffy let out a breath of air he hadn't realized that he was holding as he pushed himself back onto his hands and knees, continuing his crawl towards the door. He had no way of telling where they were on the ship if they even were on the ship but it would have to be okay.

Luffy was halfway to the door when a familiar ringing sound caught his attention.

'Peda peda peda peda.'

"Boss, did you hear something?" A faraway voice asked.

Luffy froze, glancing back at chess teeth's desk.

'Peda peda peda peda peda.'

Without waiting any longer he stood up making a dash for the snail that rested innocently on the corner of the desk, snatching it up just as he heard heavy footsteps approaching the cabin. Ducking back under the desk he answered the snail if nothing else but to quiet its calling.

"Was that your den den boss?" A voice just outside the door asked.

"I could have sworn it was." The voice replied to a question too far away for Luffy to hear.

"You're hearing things you dumb baffoon." Luffy heard Teach's response that time.

He waited once more as the footsteps slowly began to recede, hopefully for good this time.

"SPEAK! I have little time for your games today." Boomed a deep voice.

Luffy jumped in surprise nearly dropping to den den. He had forgotten someone was on the other line. He felt annoyance well up in his chest at them for inconsiderately trying to get him caught.

"SHHHHHH!" He hissed back way louder than he intended.

There was a few moments pause before the person on the other line came back angrier than before.

"HOW DARE YOU SHUSH ME, YOU CALLED ME YOU BRAT!"

"You were being too loud!" He insisted firmly, defending his initial stance of annoyance. All thoughts of stealth were forgotten.

Instead of a fiery retort like he had been expecting, he instead got a pause. When the man spoke again his voice was much quieter and more patient.

"You're not Marshal I take it?"

"You mean Chess teeth?" Luffy asked wondering how a man that evil could have a name like Marshal.

He heard a series of gruff noises that could only be laughter. He had managed to amuse the man on the other end. What he had said was any bodies guess though. Still, Luffy decided he was forgiven for nearly ruining his hiding spot.

"So not one of his lackeys then?"

"Huh? What kind of idiot would do that?" He asked honestly earning himself another laugh from the man, although he still didn't think he said anything particularly funny.

"So what's your name then? What are you doing with Teach's communicator?"

Luffy was about to respond when he heard the sound of an argument somewhere above deck. He should probably be paying more attention to when Teach would return to his office. He scanned the room looking for something to use as a weapon to surprise the man should he come knocking again.

"Are you still there?"

Luffy's dark eyes saw something he had missed before, a mirror. Except this one was the cabinet type that you could open. The mayor used to have one in his office. Luffy liked to go through it when he wasn't looking.

"Hey, are you still with me?"

"Hmm?" Luffy questioned bringing the forgotten Den Den back up to his face.

"Tell me what's going on?" The man on the other line said, his voice much kinder than when he first answered the call.

Luffy had once been told he had a habit of oversharing on Den Dens but personally he didn't see it.

"I'm looking for a key." He said opening the mirror.

"Why do you have Marshals Den Den Mushi?"

"Because it was ringing and I needed it to be quiet," Luffy told him absentmindedly, rummaging through the cabinet. As far as he could tell it was full of medicine just like the mayors had been. But maybe this was a good thing. There was still no key but wasn't Thatch sick? And didn't medicine make people feel better? Luffy could give the medicine to Thatch so he would feel better and then they could run away together…once he found his key.

There was silence from the other end of the line followed by an audible sigh. Past experience had taught Luffy that meant he was irritating someone, historically through a combination of misread social cues and his own unique blend of personality.' Luffy thought his frustration was unfounded, he had called him after all.

"I got that," The man's voice was fighting to stay patient. "Why do you need to be quiet?"

"Cause I'm hiding from him." Luffy mused reading a label on one of the bottles. Were these even real words? Oxy-co-done? What was that, like a pill form of meat or something? Maybe this dude would know, not like he had been that helpful up till now.

"Hey, you sound old," Luffy told him. Old people tended to know more things after all. "What's Oxycodone?"

"It's a painkiller." The irritation was gone, replaced now by worry. "Are you alright, are you hurt?"

Luffy glanced down at himself. He had been bandaged up pretty well and whatever he had been given seemed to do the trick as he was feeling better. The food had certainly helped as well. But his legs still trembled with every step and moving his chest too much made black spots invade his vision and make his head all light dizzy.

"M'fine." He decided. He had had worse. "But my friend is sick, he needs medicine. What should I give him?"

"What's he sick with?"

"I don't know he's just started crazy talking. And he's really hot."

"Infection." The man told him. "That's given way to a nasty fever. Erythromycin and Paracetamol are your best bets if you've got them."

Luffy pursed his lip wondering if the man helped him or sneezed. Maybe he was messing with him. Usually, he loved a good pranking but right now wasn't the time. He was about to hang up on the no-good hooligan when a blue bottle caught his eye.

"Ery-throw-my-seen?" He sounded out carefully. Surely that wasn't a word. He tucked the bottle in his pocket with the oxycodone.

"Are you in trouble? Do you need help? Is he threatening you too?"

Luffy was only half listening as he looked for the last bottle. He wished there was food in here.

"What's your name kid?"

"Luffy," Luffy told him putting the snail on his shoulder so he could have both of his hands-free.

There was a long pause from the other end, so much so Luffy thought he had hung up. He was about to count his losses when the snail snapped back to life, more urgently this time.

"Luffy listen to me you have to get out of there right now. Even if you have to swim for it. You cannot stay there with that man."

He rolled his eyes as he shut the medicine cabinet, convinced that they didn't have the one that started with P. As far as he could tell pills were supposed to fix you, so the more you had to more fixed you became right? Maybe he should grab all of them and see what happened?

"I told you, I can't leave my friend."

"You can't fight him." His voice was commanding and intense. Even over the Den Den Luffy could feel the authoritative aura that seemed to radiate from his voice.

"Leave now child, there is nothing you can do for your friend."

A lesser man would have cowered, a lesser man would have caved. But there was nothing 'lesser' about Luffy and if there was one thing he hated it was people who told him to abandon his friends.

"NO!" He stamped his foot, somewhat childishly. But he couldn't bring himself to care right now. This man needed to know that friends can't abandon each other.

"Put aside your foolish thoughts boy. The best thing you can do for you friend right now is escape. You stand no chance against Teach. When he finds you he will not spare you simply because you are a child. He will torture you, he will torture your friend and he will use you to hurt your loved ones."

"I know that!" Luffy snapped. He wanted to leave so badly. He wanted to take a long nap, he wanted real food, he wanted to be dry, he wanted to be out of the crate, the dark, and the cold. The thought of having to go back to that hellish box made him shutter. How could that stupid man sit there in, what were most likely, dry clothes and lecture him about consequences.

And then there was Ace. Black Beard had told him straight out that he was only here so he could get Ace to obey him. And then once they were done with him he would either join them or Teach would kill him. Luffy hate hate HATED the thought that he was being used to hurt Ace. That he could lose his big brother. The only one he had left… But as much as he despised it the facts were simple. Luffy never, and I mean never, abandoned his friends to save himself. Not now and not ever. People who did stuff like that were the ones he hated most of all.

"You," He said, mimicking the man's absolute tone to the best of his ability, "Cannot tell me what to do. I am going to go help Thatch, then we both will escape or we both will get caught trying."

No response to that one huh? Satisfied he had won the argument Luffy put the Den Den back in its original spot. He was about to hang up when the man responded once more.

"Wait," His voice had lost all of its authoritative quality and now he just sounded tired and very old.

Luffy really didn't have time for this crap, still he would feel bad about hanging up on someone when they sounded like that. That would be rude as Makino said.

"Is he alright…"

"Nope, I think he's dying." Tact was not one of Luffy's strong suits.

"…"

"That's why I'm giving him medicine."

"I see." A few awkward beats passed between them and Luffy was starting to get impatient. He didn't have much time and he still needed to find the key to the sea stone cuffs or else apparently he would be stuck like this forever.

"Tell me, son. Do you have any clue of where you are?"

"Yea we're in some town called Jaya, it's in the Grandline."

"How do you know this?" The man asked surprised.

"I saw it on a sign."

"You got to shore?"

"Umm," Luffy confirmed. "Really far. It took me forever to find the ship again."

Another awkward pause passed and Luffy half expected to receive another lecture. But instead, he got a quiet laugh.

"I understand. We are still far away but we are on our way as fast as we can."

Wait what? "You're coming here? Why?"

"I forgot to tell you," The voice boomed. "My name is Edward Newgate, but my children just call me Oyaji I am Thatch's captain. It is nice to meet you Luffy…"

"Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy supplied him with a grin. "Thatch told me about you guys."

"D huh? That figures…" Whitebeard mused to himself. Marshal and Luffy were probably tearing each other apart.

"Go swiftly Monkey D. Luffy, and you have my thanks for helping my son."

"Don't worry about it." And he knew he meant it.

And just like that Luffy was gone, no doubt determined to carry out his impossible task without a moment of hesitation or fear.

He rose from his desk to go give the order for departure to his children.

"They really are brothers." He thought aloud. They were two of a kind.

Little did he know.

* * *

_It was night outside. He could tell that much. He could see the stars in the sky and feel the humid summer air brush against his face. The sound of the nighttime cicadas drifted through the trees creating a soft rhythm. He was still half asleep. He vaguely registered two bodies on either side of him. He groaned, it was too hot for this extra insulation. He pushed a stray arm off of his chest and rolled over onto his side where the mat beneath him was cooler._

_His peace was disturbed a few moments later when a foot smacked him in the face. Oddly enough he was used to it. He yawned, kicking back in the general direction for good measures and receiving a sleepy mumble of 'sorry'. And all was right with the world._

" _Sabo," A lighter voice asked._

" _Mhm," He mumbled back sleepily._

" _S'rry about your goggles."_

_Sabo nuzzled his face into the mat beneath him._

" _Z'okay." He told the mattress. He would rather go back to sleep. They were just goggles he had fished out of the trash after all. He was as sentimental about them as one could get about someone's throwaways. Besides, it was nothing he couldn't fix._

" _Kay."_

_And they lapsed back into silence once more._

Sabo woke up with a yawn, stretching his tired limbs. Weird dream he thought as he stood up.

The Duke was successfully slain. Mr. Duke turned out to be so incredibly annoying and stuck up there was no way anyone would actually write 'save' before his name. So he had made an executive decision. One that greatly improved his headache. If he got in trouble he would blame it on Hack's handwriting.

He had hurried back as fast as he could but as it turned out it didn't make the difference. The kid was gone. Apparently, the kind of trouble that boy was in was of the 'disappear in the night variety.' There was nothing he could do, it was out of his hands. So why did he feel like this then?

He grabbed his hat from beside him as he left the warehouse. He was meant to check in yesterday but things had gotten in the way. No use doing it now, he would receive the lecture from Koala either way. It was time to head back to base and take his lumps from her in person. Maybe then he could finally get some sleep aside from the hour catnaps he managed to grab here and there. Koala called him a workaholic. That was probably a fair observation.

His boots clicked across the floor, taking him back to the outskirts. He had summoned the ravens a few hours ago so they must be close by now.

'You're making a mistake.' His mind chided him.

"It's out of my hands." Sabo reminded himself and that annoying part of his brain called the conscience. The kid truly was gone. Sabo would know he had looked after all. It was anyone's guess why he was so invested in this.

Although he did feel a twinge of remorse as he remembered the kid's face, He was hurt, he was scared and now he was alone again. He felt the same spark of rage as before but he pushed it down. What the hell was he doing?

"Let it go Sabo." He told himself sternly. When he got back to base, **IF** his conscience was still bugging him then he would take a look at some bounty posters and try to match the ugly mug with an equally ugly name. But that was a long shot.

He looked up to see the familiar dark shadows circling above him. The ravens were here. He reached up instinctually for his goggles only to remember halfway through the gesture. Oh that was right, he had given them away.

He climbed on the leader's back, sitting crossed-legged as the flock took flight. Soaring above the forest which gave way to the town and eventually the sea. The fresh air stung his eyes making him remember their one good use.

'Maybe it wasn't a dream after all.'

He had always wondered how the strap had broken, and then subsequently been sewed back together. 'One mystery solved,' he thought sarcastically.

So was that like… a real memory? That was new. Maybe he would get them all back one day.

Sabo had never made an effort to recover them. As far as he could tell there was nothing worth salvaging. Dragon told him he had been a miserable noble child who had tried to run away. And was unfortunate enough to run into a tenryuubito and his fancy golden gun.

Overall it didn't sound like anything very memorable there. Probably just a lot of boring political lessons and the mastery of skills no one would possibly ever need. Like the mastering of the mandolin, which had come as an unwelcome surprise a few years back. Not to mention the faint scars on his back. Sounded like noble parenting at its finest.

He shook his head. What did it matter to him now? Just like those goggles he had fished out of the trash and kept all these years? Just sentimental B.S. that he thought was beneath him. Although if he was being honest he rather liked the way the broken strap made the lenses wobble. It was very…flawed.


End file.
